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

Cal. Fed. Ct. Remands Class Action Under Uniform Standards Act’s Delaware Carve-Out

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California recently addressed two novel issues under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 (the "Act"). The Act generally requires that class actions involving ...
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California Supreme Court Affirms Expansive Reading Of Anti-SLAPP Statute

In late August 2002, the California Supreme Court issued three decisions that broadly reaffirm the reach of California's anti-SLAPP statute. The decisions strengthen the protection for expressive activities by confirming that the statute applies to ...
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California Supreme Court Upholds Grant of Class Certification in Wage and Hour Class Action Case: Sav-on Drug Stores, Inc. v. Superior Court

California will likely remain a hotbed of class action litigation against employers in light of the California Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in Sav-on Drug Stores, Inc. v. Superior Court (Rocher), S106718, issued on August 26, 2004. The Supreme ...
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Can the IRS take Your Home? Your Business?

The answer to these questions is "yes". If you owe the IRS and do not pay your tax bill in a timely manner, the IRS is empowered by Congress to undertake enforced collection in the form of levies, seizures and public sale. There is very little that ...
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Can the Y2K “Millennium Bug” Lead to Litigation?

The answer is yes. The "Millennium Bug" or "Y2K" problem is relatively simple to understand, but can have complex and profound ramifications that can leave many businesses subject to liability. In fact, there are already many Y2K related lawsuits ...
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Canadian Class Action Law: A Flawed Model for European Class Actions

Activists urging European Union nations to adopt the class action device have recently begun citing Canada as a model. Like the United States, Canada has adopted formal class action rules that permit plaintiffs to bring class proceedings. And there ...
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Case Management And Expert Disqualification: Two Important Delaware Patent Decisions

In Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique v. Dell Computer Corp., et al., C. A. Nos. 03-484-KAJ, 03-857-KAJ, 03-931-KAJ, 03-1036-KAJ, 04-099-KAJ (D. Del. May 13, 2004), Judge Jordan addressed the thorny issue of how to weigh the parties' rights, and ...
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Case Note: The Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc.

A significant portion of the patent bar was caught off-guard when the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (hereinafter "Federal Circuit") cannot assert jurisdiction over a case in which the plaintiff does ...
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Changes to U.S. Copyright Under GATT

The GATT implementing legislation has resulted in several significant changes to U.S. laws concerning Section 337 proceedings. The term Section 337 is a shorthand way of referring to Section 1337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. 19 U.S.C. ...
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Child Support Transcends International Boundaries

Your client was divorced some years ago in a small Mexican village. He and his wife had three children during the marriage. The judgment is in Spanish and has no provisions for child support. The other lawyer wants your guy to pay child support ...
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