In California, once a summons and complaint has been filed and served on the defendants they must answer within thirty days of being served. Assuming they do, the parties usually engage in mutual discovery in which they exchange documents and testimony in support of...
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Legal Procedures
Does a felony conviction impact your civil case?
What impact, if any, does a past felony conviction have on a civil case? Someone with a past felony conviction(s), which has not been expunged, sealed or otherwise made inaccessible to the public will have to admit to them when/if asked by the other side. Failing to...
The driver who hit me fled the scene or was not insured and has no assets, what do I do now?
You may still be able to recover your damages if your own policy has an uninsured/under-insured motorist (“UM” and “UIM,” respectively) policy. You must first exhaust any worker’s compensation policies that may be in effect if you were on the job at the time of the...
What are my recovery rights in a product liability claim with no personal injuries?
Product liability claims can only be for property damage, however the recovery tends to be narrower and more strictly defined than when there is a personal injury. It is possible to include the loss of the defective product itself, i.e. the cost of the item, but this...
Child Sexual Abuse and Civil Torts
There are two ways to go about litigation in a child sexual abuse case, through the civil justice system or the criminal justice system. [1] With Civil litigation the defendant is held responsible for personal damages against the victim and/or victim’s legal guardians...
Personal Injury Statutes of Repose
Victims of an accident are often shocked to find that, having waited too long to take action against the party responsible for their injuries, they are statutorily barred from doing so. These so-called “statutes of limitation” assign strict times in which to file a...
Toxic Torts: An Introduction
A tort is “a civil wrong that the law recognizes as deserving a remedy.” [1] The tort system holds a tortfeaser, or party who committed a civil wrong, responsible for providing monetary compensation to the injured party. [1] With the definition of tort in mind, a...
Late Notices to Public Entities
in a previous article, some of the immunities that public entities enjoy against civil litigation were considered. A related topic involves the pre-litigation notice that such entities are statutorily entitled to: with almost no exceptions, lawsuits involving the...
The person who injured me filed bankruptcy. How does this affect my case?
A bankruptcy proceeding filed by the party or parties that injured you can result in a stay of your claim. The defendant may be able to stop your lawsuit against them while their bankruptcy is sorted out and you may have to take your claims to the bankruptcy court. If...
What is Arbitration?
Arbitration is a trial like proceeding usually held by a private company such as American Arbitration Association or Judicate West. Arbitration follows many of the same proceedings as trial, including written discovery and depositions. The arbitrator may be a retired...