Most people are intimidated by a law suit. That is not surprising given the complexity of the procedures and the formality of our judicial process. Below I have tried to set out the major components of a typical law suit applicable to all areas of the civil law process.

The pleadings stage

The plaintiff must file a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim. The Writ is the formal document that starts the law suit and the statement of claim briefly sets out the facts giving rise to the claim and identifies the remedy the plaintiff is seeking.

The plaintiff must then serve the Writ and Statement of Claim personally on the defendant. Upon being served the defendant must file an Appearance Notice within 7 days and then, within a further 14 days, a Statement of Defence, setting out why is not liable to the claim. Failure to do either allows the plaintiff to obtain a default judgment against the defendant.

The Discovery Stage

Every party (plaintiff and defendant) must prepare a list of documents on which they intend to rely to prove or defend the claim. Each party then has a right to examine such documents prior to trial.

Every party has a right to examine the other party, prior to trial, under oath. This is an informal process held in a court reporter's office. The lawyer for each party ask the other party specific questions relevant to the law suit. The court reporter will record the questions and answers in a booklet which can be used at trial to impeach the witness if he gives a different answer to the same question posed at trial.

Thus with this discovery process, ie. Discovery of documents and the examination for discovery, counsel for both parties should have the bulk of the evidence relevant to the case. This allows each party to appraise their respective claims and often settlement of the claim is possible at this stage.

Pre-trial Remedies

Prior to trial your lawyer has an opportunity to place the case before a judge at a settlement conference. This allows a judge to evaluate the case and give his opinion as to the success or failure of the case or, in the case of a personal injury claim, the amount of the damages. Both counsel can then evaluate the opinion of the judge and settle the claim or proceed to trial. (with a different judge)

The parties can also agree to mediate the claim. This is especially helpful for personal injury claims. The mediation process is generally one day and involves the parties and their lawyers arguing the merits of their positions with the help of a mediator. I have used this process often with great success. It is cost effective and saves having to go to trial.

The Trial

This is the final and most expensive stage of the action. Generally legal fees run about $2,000 per day of trial not including trial preparation. Trials are very formal in Supreme Court and are governed by strict rules of procedure and evidence. First the plaintiff submits his case with his own testimony and that of his witnesses and then the defendant does the same. After final arguments by the lawyers the judge will render a verdict on the last day, or as is the case most often, reserve his decision so he can review the evidence and then provide the parties with a written decision later.

The Appeal

If either party feels the judge was wrong in his decision they can appeal his ruling. This, however, is a very expensive process and should be discussed thoroughly with your lawyer. If you do appeal you must file a Notice of Appeal within 30 days of the judgment, order a transcript of the trial within 60 days, prepare the appeal book containing the evidence at trial within a further 30 days and finally prepare the factum (legal argument) within a further 30 days. The appeal is then argued on the basis of the appeal book and factum only before a three judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal.