Lawsuit Basics: The Complaint

The legal system is a difficult thing to understand. This is a bad thing for society because it requires most people to hire a lawyer to guide them through the process, but it’s a good thing for me because it means that I have a job (my professional basketball career never quite took off like my 12-year-old self thought it would).

The rules governing lawsuits are generally contained in what are called the “rules of civil procedure.” Each state has a version, the federal system has a version, and if that wasn’t complicated enough, most courts have their own twist on those versions called “local rules”. You can read the Wisconsin rules here, or do yourself a favor and don’t. I can assure you they are poorly written, overly complicated, and you won’t remember anything about them once your done.

Because the rules of civil procedure aren’t much help to non-lawyers, I’m going to be writing about the basics of lawsuits in a way that’s hopefully a little easier to understand. Today, I’ll start with the complaint.

A complaint is what gets the lawsuit started. It tells the story of what happened to the plaintiff, lays out what legal claims the plaintiff thinks she has, and alerts the defendant about what the plaintiff wants the court to do about it. If you’re the plaintiff, filing and serving this feels good: finally that rotten defendant knows you mean business. If you’re the defendant, you can’t believe that the plaintiff is telling so many lies about you.

If you are served with a complaint, DO NOT IGNORE IT. You have been sued and you have to respond pretty quickly–usually within 20 to 45 days. The response itself isn’t terribly complicated (unless you file a motion to dismiss, which I’ll cover later), but you want to get started quickly. This would be a good time to consult with an attorney or start studying those rules of civil procedure because you’re going to need one or the other.

Next week, I’ll cover the response where the defendant can either deny she did anything wrong or come out swinging with claims of her own.