Anatomy of a Lawsuit by Leonard J. Catanzaro, Esq.
1. Summons and Complaint: A lawsuit is deemed commenced upon the purchase of an index number with the court; within 120 days of filing, the defendants must be served by a process server and the affidavits of service filed with the court.
2. Answer and Counterclaim: After the defendant is served with the summons and complaint, the defendant must serve an answer within 20-30 days depending on whether they were personally served. The answer frequently contains a Counterclaim, which must be responded to by the plaintiff.
3. Request for Judicial Intervention and Request for Preliminary Conference: Once the Answer is served, "issue has been joined" and the next step is to file a Request for Judicial Intervention and Request for Preliminary Conference. This assigns a judge to the case, and results in a PC date.
4. Preliminary Conference: This is typically the first court date where attorneys appear in court to enter into a PC order scheduling the exchange of documents in the case, such as contracts, change orders, payments, correspondence, etc., and also scheduling the depositions of all parties.
5. Discovery Demands: Each party serves discovery demands called Demand for Bill of Particulars, or Interrogatories, and Notice for Discovery and Inspection. The Demand for BOP asks questions about the claim, and NDI requests copies of documents.
6. Depositions: Also known as an EBT "examination before trial" usually occurs after paper discovery has been exchanged. The attorneys take the testimony of the adverse party before a court reporter who makes a transcript of the deposition. This deposition transcript can be used at trial to impeach the credibility of the adverse party. It is also a way to lock in the adverse party's testimony to prepare for trial and avoid surprises.
7. Note of Issue: Once discovery is complete the case is ready for trial. Usually the plaintiff files a Note of Issue stating that all discovery is complete and the case is ready for trial.
8. Trial: A trial date is set and the parties come to court ready to present their respective evidence and witnesses. Sometimes cases settle just before trial or during the trial itself.