How To Sue Someone: Everything You Need To Know

Determining how to sue someone is very complicated. You need to decide if you should pursue a case, where to sue, which court to sue in and much more–and that’s all before you even get to the process of filing court paperwork.

If you are considering a lawsuit, the first and most important thing you should do is find a lawyer familiar with cases like yours. Your attorney will guide you through every step of the litigation process.

While you may be worried about the costs of a lawyer, in many cases this is not a big concern. In many types of lawsuits, such as personal injury and medical malpractice cases, lawyers generally obtain compensation on a contingency fee basis. This means they are only paid if you win your case. Since they can often help you recover more money than if you sued on your own, getting professional legal help is well worth it.

Regardless of whether you hire a lawyer or not, though, these are the steps you can expect to take if you wish to use the civil court system to obtain a legal remedy.

Before even considering how to sue, you need to decide if going through the legal process is worthwhile. There are three key questions to ask yourself before you move forward.

Do You Have a Good Case?

You need grounds to sue, which means there must be a legal cause of action. You cannot just sue someone for things you don’t like–they must have violated some rule or requirement in a way that harmed you and in a way you can be compensated for.

When there are legal grounds to sue, there are also elements of your case you must prove. For example, in a personal injury claim based on negligence, you must be able to show:

• The defendant had a duty or obligation to you
• The defendant negligently failed to live up to their obligation
• The negligence was the direct cause of harm that was a predictable result of the negligence
• You suffered harm that the defendant should compensate you for

If you don’t have solid evidence to prove every element of your case, then you’re unlikely to prevail in court and suing would typically be a waste of time and make little sense.

Are There Alternatives to Suing?

Going through a lawsuit can be one of the more stressful, expensive and time-consuming ways to resolve disputes. Often, there are alternatives.

In many situations, you and the defendant can settle out of court. This means coming up with a resolution, on your own or with the help of lawyers and/or mediators. You sign a settlement agreement specifying how your case is resolved and then you do not need to go to court at all.

In an injury claim, for example, you and the defendant could negotiate a settlement in which the defendant (or their insurer) agrees to pay you a certain amount of money to cover your losses. In exchange, you agree not to pursue any further claims for compensation.

An attorney can help you to explore alternatives to a lawsuit and can assist in the settlement negotiation process so you can avoid the hassle and uncertainty involved in court proceedings.

Is There Money to Pay You if You Win?

When you file a civil lawsuit, remedies are typically monetary. In other words, most often, if you win your case, the court will award you financial compensation.

But, just because the court enters a judgment against the defendant doesn’t mean the defendant has money to pay you.

Most often, the defendant will have insurance that pays out up to policy limits. For example, if you sue a driver for causing a car accident, the driver’s auto insurer would pay compensation up to the limits of the liability policy. In some cases, however, a defendant has no insurance. And when that happens it may be impossible to enforce the judgment if the defendant doesn’t have a job or assets.

It does you little good to spend your time suing, only to find out the defendant is judgment-proof (the legal term used for someone with insufficient assets to pay out money the court has ordered them to pay).

If you think you want to move forward with a lawsuit, you’ll want to begin working on gathering evidence to prove your case. This could mean different things in different situations.

For example, if you are interested in suing a doctor for medical malpractice, you need your medical records and an expert willing to testify on your behalf about what the doctor treating you did wrong.

You can continue gathering information throughout the course of your case, but it’s best not to sue until you are confident you will have the evidence necessary to show the defendant should be held liable for losses.

You must sue in a court that has jurisdiction. Jurisdiction means the court has a sufficient connection to your case such that it has authority to preside over it. Typically, this means suing where you or the defendant live or where the incident giving rise to the lawsuit took place.

In most situations, you will sue in state court. You can pursue a claim in federal court only under limited circumstances such as when your case arises out of federal laws or if there is diversity jurisdiction. Diversity jurisdiction exists if the amount in question is over $75,000 and you and the defendant don’t live in the same state.

If you sue in a court without jurisdiction, the court won’t have the authority to move forward with your case.

You will need to submit forms to the court when you want to file a lawsuit. The specific documents will vary based on the type of your case, the court’s rules and many other factors. You will generally also need to pay a filing fee to initiate the lawsuit.

It can be very difficult to determine what civil court forms you should file. The documents you need to submit could include a complaint form, a summons, and much more. You should have a lawyer help you at this phase.

The defendant must be notified of the lawsuit. Usually, there is a specific process by which this must occur. For example, you may need to hire a professional process server to hand-deliver the paperwork to the defendant.

Once the defendant is served, they have an opportunity to submit their own response and their own supporting documents to the court. The response the defendant submits could deny your allegations, counter your arguments, or could ask for the case to be dismissed for lack of legal cause.

Once the defendant has been provided with notice, the process of a trial gets underway. During the discovery phase the parties have the opportunity to ask each other questions, subpoena evidence and hold depositions (questioning under oath). The court sets a date for pre-trial motions and pleadings and for the trial in which you and the defendant are each able to present your cases.

If you have sued, you will generally have the burden of proving every element of your claim. The standard is lower than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard of criminal court. In many cases, a preponderance of the evidence standard is applied. This means you must show more likely than not that the defendant did what you allege.

If you successfully prove every element of your case, you win your lawsuit unless the defendant successfully raises defenses. If you win, the court awards damages which usually means the defendant has to pay you a set amount of compensation to “make you whole.” The court also may order the defendant to do or not do specific things (called equitable relief).