Difference between revisions of "I Need to Take Someone to Court — What's the Process?"

The defendant will need to file a <span class="noglossary">Reply</span> and provide you with a copy. You and the defendant will then receive a Notice of Settlement Conference. A settlement conference is an opportunity for you and the defendant to meet with a judge to see if you can agree to resolve the claim. The judge at a settlement conference is only there to help see if the parties can agree on a settlement. He or she cannot impose an agreement.

If the settlement conference doesn't resolve the case, you will be given a Notice of Trial. At trial, you will present your case, and the defendant will be given a chance to present his or her case. The trial judge will then decide who wins.

The defendant must file and provide you with a Response to Civil Claim in response to your Notice of Civil Claim. During the next stage of a Supreme Court proceeding, known as ''discovery'', the parties exchange documents and may cross-examine each other outside of court. Finally, if the case is not resolved, it will proceed to ''trial''. At trial, you will need to present your evidence through witnesses and the defendant will need to do the same. At the end of the trial, the judge (or in some cases, a jury) will decide who wins.