Civil Litigation

Civil litigation has been described as “everything but civil.”  When two or more parties have a dispute that they cannot resolve, it is time to turn to the courts for relief.

The first question is: which court?  If your dispute is about money, and someone owes you less than $7,500 (or $5,000 if you are a corporation), then Small Claims Court is usually the best place to be.  Typically, you’ll get a trial date within 45 days, so the process is quick.  Neither side can be represented by an attorney, so the costs are minimal.  If the Defendant wins, the case is over.  If the Plaintiff wins, the Defendant can file a simple one-page appeal to the Superior Court, known as a “trial de novo” (Latin for “from scratch”).

If your dispute exceeds the above dollar limitations, or if you seek certain other types of relief or damages (equitable relief, attorney fees, etc.), you’ll be in Superior Court.  Each of California’s 58 counties has its own court system, although most of their rules and forms have been standardized in recent years.  Within Superior Court, civil litigation cases are filed as either Limited jurisdiction or Unlimited jurisdiction.  “Limited” means an amount in dispute of $25,000 or less; “Unlimited” means more than $25,000.  Either way, you’re in the same courthouse, except that the Limited cases have more streamlined rules.  Cases are required to be given a trial date within one year of filing of the Complaint, although recent budget cuts are pushing trials back a bit.

In some circumstances, your case may be in the federal courts.  If your subject matter involves certain federal issues, such as trademarks or copyright, federal court is usually the best forum.  If all parties to an action are from different states, and the amount of their dispute exceeds $75,000, federal courts can have jurisdiction based on a term known as “diversity”.  The federal trial court is called a District Court, and there are four federal judicial districts within California.  The court covering the greater Los Angeles area is known as the United States District Court for the Central District of California (yes, that is a mouthful).

Our firm is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts within California.  Please visit our drop-down menu pages within Civil Litigation for more specific information on your topic of interest.