Civil Procedure

This is FindLaw’s collection of Civil Procedure articles, part of the Litigation and Disputes section of the Corporate Counsel Center. It is the body of law surrounding procedural rules detailing how the court will handle a civil case. Civil procedure is a set of rules that help determine what pleas, orders and motions are allowed, as well as how to handle depositions and discovery. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the US federal court in 1938, has been used by most states. Law articles in this archive are predominantly written by lawyers for a professional audience seeking business solutions to legal issues. Start your free research with FindLaw.

Civil Litigation

Civil Procedure Articles

Notice Requirements Help Journalists Facing Abusive Subpoenas

Prompted by media attention to a rash of subpoenas issued to California journalists, the California legislature has enacted new procedural safeguards, including a minimum of five days' notice before a journalist may be required to testify, that ...
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No Right to Jury Trial in State Court Bad Faith Actions

On May 30, 2003, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that plaintiffs are not entitled to a jury trial under 42 Pa.C.S. Â§ 8371, Pennsylvania’s bad faith statute. The ruling in Mishoe v. Erie Ins. Co. and Hamer v. Federal Kemper Ins. Co., 824 A.2d ...
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11th Circuit Reins in Class Action Certification Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2)

Employers have reason to celebrate a recent victory in the battle among federal circuit courts regarding the availability of compensatory and punitive damages in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) class action suits. In Cooper v. Southern Co ...
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A Golden Rule for Hiring an Expert

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in BullsEye, a newsletter distributed by IMS Expert Services. When hiring an expert, the most important quality to look for is someone who presents well, litigator Christopher A. Riley believes ...
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Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) May Be An Effective Way Of Avoiding Costly And Prolonged Litigation

ADR consists of various methods of resolving legal disputes without resorting to conventional lawsuits. Most forms of ADR are quicker, more efficient, and more economical than traditional litigation in court. Under the Minnesota Rules of Court ...
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Alternative Dispute Resolution in North Carolina

Until recent years, clients' only legal recourse in resolving a controversy was either to attempt to settle the matter outside of a courtroom on their own or to file a lawsuit and let a judge settle dispute in a formal judicial hearing. However, in ...
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Alternative Dispute Resolution Mandated by Minnesota Court

Effective July 1, 1994, new amendments adopted by the Minnesota Supreme Court to the General Rules of Practice mandate early consideration, in nearly all civil cases, of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). ADR can encompass mediation, arbitration ...
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Amendments to Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

Below are the published amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, effective January 1, 1997, cited at 21 Florida L. Weekly S489 (the "New Rules"). Pursuant to these amendments, some rules of procedure, which we have all become quite ...
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An Analytical Framework for Opposing Class Certification Motions

During the 1980s, class-action litigation exploded, as plaintiffs' counsel vigorously pursued class actions in various settings while appellate courts tolerated the "certify now and worry later" approach many trial courts adopted. Things changed in ...
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An Expert’s Escapade, a Cautionary Tale

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in BullsEye, a newsletter distributed by IMS Expert Services. Call it the case of the Renegade Expert. A federal judge's 78-page order enjoining an expert involved in Zyprexa mass-tort litigation ...
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