Civil litigation is the process in which disputes between two or more people are resolved through court involvement. One person files a lawsuit against another, after which the conduct of the case and the applicable timelines are dictated by the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure and the rules of the respective courts. Some of the events that occur in the course of most lawsuits include case management conferences, pre-trial conferences, motions, and trial. During the pendency of the case the parties engage in discovery, the various mechanisms, including interrogatories, requests for admissions, and depositions, through which the parties acquire information about their opponent's case.
The court system encourages litigants to engage in alternative dispute resolution. Methods of alternative dispute resolution include conciliation, mediation, and arbitration. In all of these a third party, or neutral, that is, a person with no stake in the case, hears a presentation by each party and makes a decision. Depending on several factors, this decision may or may not be binding. If the decision is not binding and the parties do not agree to abide by it the case returns to the court for a trial.
Civil litigation encompasses virtually every type of civil dispute. This includes personal injury cases, breach of contract cases, and many others. Attorney Dawley has many years of experience in civil litigation and provides a knowledgeable and problem-solving approach to each case.
