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You are a basketball star who was late for practice. You rushed out your door, tripped over your neighbor’s dog, and broke your wrist. You consider suing your neighbors. Whether or not you win your lawsuit will depend on who is at fault. Are your neighbors to blame? Or should you have been paying attention to where you were going? If you do sue, you will be the plaintiff and your neighbors will be the defendants. You or your attorney will allege that the neighbors should have had their dog in their yard. Because they did not, you broke your wrist, incurred medical expenses, and worst of all, you missed the entire basketball season. You are suing the neighbors for medical expenses and for the pain and suffering caused by missing the basketball season. The neighbors may claim that, even though their dog was at your door, your injuries were at least partially your fault because you didn’t look where you were going and witnesses say that the dog was barking loudly at the time. The defendant is claiming you “contributed” to your injuries and must pay some of the damages yourself. This
Compare and Contrast Civil Law Criminal Law Deals with crime that people commit against each other. The punishment attempts to keep society safe from harmful people. People can be charged for the same thing in both a civil and criminal case. (OJ Case) Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt • “Deals with the rights of private citizens in disputes with other citizens, with businesses, or with governments.” • The punishment is to repay or fix what you did wrong • No Grand Jury (usually only the judge makes the decision) • Preponderance of the Evidence
How a Civil Law case is Determined: • The judge listens to both sides and determines if any laws have been broken. • Precedent? • What is fair? • If a law is broken the judge issues a remedy • A way to make up for the damage that has been done
Liability: • If you are found liable by the judge this means that whatever happened was your fault, and you are legally responsible. • Compensation • Payment for the loss or injury suffered
Types of Compensation: • Damages: Money paid as compensation • Punitive Damages: Money paid because the defendant broke the law (paid to plaintiff) • Nominal Damages: “damages in name only” the defendant broke the law but did not cause much damage or injury and only pays a small amount • Restitution: Returning property to the plaintiff
Other Remedies: • Injunction: court order demanding that you stop doing something • Specific Performance: court order demanding that you do something (or follow through with something) • Rescission: both parties agree to cancel or rescind a signed contract • Reformation: a court order change to a contract
Civil Trial: The Players • Litigation (lawsuit)- resolving a civil dispute in court • Plaintiff- The person or party who files the lawsuit • Defendant – The person who is being sued
Civil Trial: The Process • Plaintiff files a complaint- a written notice with the courts that explains why the defendant is being sued • Defendant can file an answer – a written response to the complaint • Discovery- both parties gather as many facts, witnesses or evidence that they can • Trail – Both parties present what they have discovered to the judge who decides who has the most evidence to support their claim (preponderance of the evidence)
Alternatives to Litigation • Negotiation: settling civil disputes outside of the court room • Mediators are sometimes used as a neutral third party to listen to both sides and make suggestions. This is called mediation • Arbitrators are also a neutral third party but they make the final decision which is binding. This is called arbitration.
