In class now. Lots of griping about the prices of textbooks.First part of class is a recap of syllabus.
Today, we’re dealing with court procedures, tort procedures, etc.
Three levels of courts
- Federal Courts
- State Courts
- City Courts
Most lawsuits between two private parties happen at state court level. City courts tend to handle internal issues; traffic tickets, local statutes, etc.
Steps in Suing/being sued
- Complaint — Filed by plaintiff at County Court House
- Defendant is served with suit by agent of court
- Defendant must file general denial or cross-complaint
- Discovery – Interogatory and/or Deposition
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) (not legally required, but often court mandated)
- Negotiation
- Mediation
- Arbitration — Arbitrated decisions are binding, barring collusion or incompetence
- Pretrial Hearing
- Trial
- Judgement
After judgement is rendered, winning party, if awarded some damages, must get Writ of Execution, and present it to losing party. If losing party does not, then, pay, then their property can be seized as payment.
In Texas, wages cannot be directly seized, and homes cannot be directly seized. Other assets are vulnerable.
Pg. 46 has ADR summary. Pg. 59 has types of motions. Pg. 66 has Pretrial procedures. Pg. 68 has trial procedures. Pg. 72 has posttrial options. Pg 53 has stages in a typical lawsuit, similar to the above.
Lawsuits must be filed in the proper jurisdiction, or they will be thrown out. Generally a lawsuit (civil law) involving property is filed in the county where the property is located.
Concurrent jurisdiction means multiple entities or agencies have jurisdiction over an issue.
Pg. 37 has summary of jurisdiction. Pg. 42 has summary of court types.
Long-Arm statute means states can assert jurisdiction over residents or events in other states if they have significant interest.
Federal courts can assert jurisdiction over federal issues, and issues involving diversity of citizenship. Diversity of citizenship involves having defendants of two different states, and a dollar amount in contention of $75,000 or more.
Homework: Look at Chapters 1,2,3. Look at syllabus. Scan Chapter 4