Trusted Civil Litigation Attorney for the People of Nampa and the Entire Treasure Valley

You need to prove three elements to win:

• Negligence – existence of a duty of care plus breach of that duty
• Causation – the defendant’s negligence caused the accident
• Damages – expressed in monetary terms

Each of these elements must be proven with admissible evidence under a “more likely than not” standard.

The process works like this:

• You initiate the lawsuit by filing a formal Complaint with the filing fee.
• The court serves the Complaint and other paperwork on the defendant.
• The defendant responds, typically with a formal Answer.
• The parties commence the discovery process.
• A trial is held.
• An appeal is held, if either party requests one.

Discovery is the process by which each party demands information and evidence from the other side (and sometimes third parties) in order to prepare for trial.

Discovery may include requests for documents, information provided under oath, and even physical evidence. Discovery can be enforced by court order.

Arbitration is a trial with a private “rent-a-judge” and simplified rules of procedure. If you sue a defendant over a dispute arising out of a contract, for example, the contract may have included an arbitration clause that requires arbitration of your dispute and prevents courtroom litigation. Arbitration decisions normally cannot be appealed.

When you win a lawsuit against an individual, you may normally collect your judgment out of all of that individual’s personal assets (although, in many cases, an insurance company will end up paying the judgment). When you win a lawsuit against the corporation, you generally cannot draw on the assets of the individual who owns the corporation – you can only draw on the corporation’s assets.