blaw 6.1 litigation

answer

a brief reply to each of the allegations in the complaint

default judgement

a judges ruling that the plaintiff wins without having to go to trial

complaint

a short, plain statements of facts alleged by the plaintiff

parties are entitled to discover ______________.

anything that could reasonably lead to valid evidence

In Jones v. Clinton the court granted summary judgment for the defendant

because the plaintiff failed to make out a claim of sexual harassment

Sometimes a defendant does more than merely answer a complaint but also files a ________, which is a second lawsuit by the defendant against the plaintiff

counterclaim

A lawyer may question the opposing party, or a potential witness in person and under oath in a

deposition

one theory behind ____ is that the best outcome to civil ______ is a _____ and that parties will move toward agreement if they understand the opponents case. That result is likeliest to occur if both sides have an opportunity to _____ their opponents _____.

discovery, litigation, negotiated settlement, examine, evidence

The biggest change in litigation in the last decade has been an increase in

electronic discovery

During discovery, each side may only request physical documents from the other.

false

In Legends Are Forever, Inc. v. Nike Inc. the court considered the huge difference in the financial positions of the parties when making its decision.

false

A lawyer for the defense submits a question for the plaintiff to answer in writing under oath. This is a(n)

interrogatory

If a large corporation is being sued by a much smaller entity, the corporation may _______ which is a form of gamesmanship that has become more prevalent in the last decade

make e-discovery prohibitively expensive

______ is a formal request to the court

motion

A summary judgment occurs when

no trial is necessary because the essential facts are not in dispute

In real trials, the lawyers know in advance the answers to practically all questions asked because

of discovery

The documents that begin a lawsuit are called the _______. The most important are the _____ and the _________.

pleadings, complaint, answer

discovery

pre-trial opportunity for both parties to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents case

a _________ is a ruling by the court that no trial is necessary because some essential facts are not in dispute.

summary judgement

pleadings

the documents that begin a lawsuit

in camera inspection

the judge views the requested documents alone

If the court grants the defense's request to perform a physical exam on the plaintiff it is because

the plaintiffs physical condition is likely to be relevant to the dispute

Efficient and fair litigation cannot take place in a courtroom filled with surprises.

true