Personal injury lawsuits such as those stemming from car accidents, medical malpractice, or slip and fall incidents are a one type of civil suit. Other common civil lawsuits include breach of contract, product liability, divorce and family law, property disputes, and housing disputes.
The prayer for relief is the part of complaint where a plaintiff states the damages or other remedies it is seeking from the court in a lawsuit. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8(a)(3) requires that a plaintiff's pleadings contains a prayer for relief. The prayer is often located at the end of the complaint.
A complaint is the pleading that starts a case. Essentially, a document that sets forth a jurisdictional basis for the court's power, the plaintiff's cause of action, and a demand for judicial relief. A plaintiff starts a civil action by filing a pleading called a complaint.
The defendant has 20 calendar days from service of process to file an answer (Form No. AOCLJCV4F) to the lawsuit. An answer is your written response that you file with the court admitting or denying the creditor's claims and the reasons why. The answer should respond to each element of the complaint.
In essence, a legal complaint initiates a lawsuit, while a lawsuit encompasses the entire process of resolving the dispute in court. The existence of a lawsuit and its course through the judicial process is also referred to as “litigation.”
A caption identifying the plaintiff and defendant, and the court in which the complaint is being filed. A brief description of the parties (e.g., their name and address). Allegations demonstrating that the court has subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and venue to adjudicate the claims in the complaint.
On a separate page or pages, write a short and plain statement of the answer to the allegations in the complaint. Number the paragraphs. The answer should correspond to each paragraph in the complaint, with paragraph 1 of the answer corresponding to paragraph 1 of the complaint, etc.
An answer must be filed within TWENTY (20) calendar days from the date you were served with the civil summons and complaint. If the complaint was served outside of Arizona, the time to answer time is THIRTY (30) calendar days. In computing the time in which to file an answer, the date of service is not included.
Only these pleadings are allowed: a complaint; an answer to a complaint; a counterclaim; an answer to a counterclaim designated as a counterclaim; an answer to a crossclaim; a third-party complaint; an answer to a third-party complaint; and, if the court orders one, a reply to an answer.