A civil lawsuit begins when a plaintiff files an original petition against a defendant. The plaintiff then requests a citation and service of the lawsuit on the defendant so that the defendant has notice of the lawsuit and can properly defend it. Once the defendant is served with the lawsuit, the defendant is required to file an answer with the court within a certain period of time or a default judgment may be taken against the defendant. Once both parties have appeared in court then the process of discovery may begin. With discovery, both parties are seeking evidence that is relevant to the case to present in court. A party may send another party a request for disclosure, interrogatories, request for production and/or request for admissions while in the discovery process. A party to the lawsuit may also want to depose the other party to the lawsuit or anyone that is a witness in the lawsuit to determine what that person can testify to in court. Once the discovery process ends then the case may be ready for a trial. Most cases are settled before a trial. You can have a trial before a judge or jury. Please contact Carrabba & Associates, P.C. if you have been sued so that we can determine if we can assist you with the defense of your case.