N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w 17. 6 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l I’m trying to decide whether to sue someone—for example, a contractor who goofed up my expensive remodeling project. What are my first steps? You need to be able to answer yes to three fundamental questions in order to decide whether it’s worthwhile to go forward: • Do I have a good legal case? • Can I prove my case? • Can I collect when I win? If the answer to any of these ques- tions is no, you probably won’t want to sue. How hard is it to collect a court judgment? That depends on your opponent. Most reputable businesses and individuals will pay you what they owe. But if your opponent tries to stiff you, col- lecting what you are owed can be a costly time-consuming struggle. Un- fortunately, the court won’t collect your money for you or even provide much help; it will be up to you to identify the assets you can grab. Normally, if an individual is work- ing or owns valuable property—such as land or investments—collection is less difficult; you can instruct your local law enforcement agency (usually the sheriff, marshal or constable) to garnish her wages or attach her non- exempt property. The same is true of a successful business, especially one which receives cash directly from cus- tomers; you can authorize your local sheriff or marshal to collect your judgment right out of the cash regis- ter. And in many states, if you are su- ing a contractor or other business per- son with a state license, you can apply to have the license suspended until the judgment is paid. But if you can’t identify any collec- tion source—for example, you’re deal- ing with an unlicensed contractor of highly doubtful solvency—think twice before suing. A judgment will be of no value to you if the business or individual is insolvent, goes bankrupt or disappears. How do I decide if I have a good case? Lawyers break each type of lawsuit (“cause of action,” in attorney-speak) into a short list of required elements. As long as you know what the ele- ments are for your type of lawsuit, it’s usually fairly easy to determine whether your case is legally sound. For example, a lawsuit against a con- tractor for doing substandard con- struction would be for breach of con- tract (the contractor agreed either orally or in writing to do the job properly). The legal elements for this type of lawsuit are: Contract formation. You must show that you have a legally binding con- tract with the other party. If you have a written agreement, this element is especially easy to prove. Without a written contract, you will have to show that you had an enforceable oral (spoken) contract, or that an enforce- able contract can be implied from the circumstances of your situation. Performance. You must prove that you did what was required of you under the terms of the contract. As- C O U R T S A N D M E D I A T I O N 17.7 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l suming you have made agreed-upon payments and otherwise met the terms of the agreement, you’ll have no problems with this element. Breach. You must show that the party you plan to sue failed to meet her contractual obligations. This is usually the heart of the case—you’ll normally need to prove that the con- tractor failed to do agreed-upon work or did work of poor quality. Damages. You must show that you suffered an economic loss as a result of the other party’s breach of contract. Assuming the work must be redone or finished, this element is also easy to prove. The legal elements for other types of lawsuits are different. You can find outlines for most in Represent Yourself in Court, by Attorneys Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman-Barrett (Nolo). Is it difficult to prepare the paperwork to initiate a lawsuit? Actually, it’s often fairly easy—espe- cially if you learn how to do the nec- essary legal research and prepare drafts of the papers, restricting your lawyer’s role to that of checking your work. Initiating a lawsuit is especially straightforward in states such as Cali- fornia and Michigan, where court clerks provide preprinted fill-in-the- blanks forms for many types of law- suits. But even in states where law- suits are filed the old-fashioned way, using paragraphs of appropriate legal jargon on numbered legal paper, the actual wording you’ll need is almost always available word for word from lawyer “forms books” or CD-ROMs. And increasingly states themselves are making forms available free on their own websites. (See “Court Information Online,” above.) These information sources, which are routinely used by lawyers, are available at most larger law libraries and are usually fairly easy for the nonlawyer to understand. I’ve filed my lawsuit. What do I need to do next? Before a case gets scheduled for trial, a number of things need to happen, including meetings with your oppo- nent and paperwork designed to re- duce or narrow disputed issues. Court rules that cover many of these—for example, whether and when a settle- ment conference must take place, when papers must be filed and how to place a case on the court’s trial calen- dar—should be available from the court clerk and, increasingly, on the Web (see Court Information Online, above). Unfortunately, many clerks are not willing to provide help be- yond handing out a copy of often con- fusing written rules. To get a plain English overview of the pretrial pro- cess, see Nolo’s Represent Yourself in Court, by Attorneys Paul Bergman & Sara J. Berman-Barrett. In addition to procedural maneuverings, most larger lawsuits involve a search for information about the facts of the case, called “discov- ery.” This process is left largely up to you and the other parties to the law- suit. For example, one type of discov- ery consists of your taking the deposi- tion (oral statement) of the other party or one or more witnesses to find N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w 17. 8 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l out what he or she is likely to say at trial. Additional types of discovery consist of interrogatories (written questions to the other party), a re- quest to produce documents or a re- quest that the other party admit cer- tain facts (stipulations). What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking a deposition? Depositions, which normally consist of face-to-face questioning of the other party or a witness before trial, have several big advantages as com- pared to the other types of discovery mentioned above: • You can learn a great deal about your adversary’s case, so as to avoid surprise in the courtroom. • You can offer a deposition transcript into evidence at trial if the deponent (the person questioned) is unavail- able to give live testimony. This rule explains why you might consider deposing a helpful witness who may not be available to testify at the time of trial. • If an adversary’s witness whose deposition you have taken testifies significantly differently at trial than at the deposition, you can read the inconsistent deposition testimony into the trial record to impeach (attack) the deponent’s credibility. EXAMPLE You have sued your former employer for violating state law by firing you for miss- ing work because you served on a jury in a lengthy trial. Before trial you take the deposition of your former supervisor, Paul Chepick. At the deposition, Chepick testi- fied that your work performance had been satisfactory before you took off for jury duty. At trial, Chepick testifies that you were fired not because of your jury service, but because of a number of work-related problems. Because Chepick’s deposition tes- timony contradicts his trial testimony, you could read the deposition testimony into the record at trial to call his believability into question. • As compared to conducting discov- ery by asking written questions (interrogatories), depositions allow for more flexibility in questioning because you hear a deponent’s answer before you ask the next question. For example, assume that a deponent unexpectedly refers to an important business meeting that you had no idea had taken place. In a deposition, you can immediately follow up the remark with questions about what took place during this meeting. • You can take anyone’s deposition. You can depose your adversary, an employee who works for your adversary, a bystander who wit- nessed a key event, an expert witness hired by your opponent—or even your opponent’s attorney! By contrast, you can send written questions (interrogatories) only to your opponent, not to witnesses. • You elicit the testimony of an individual deponent. While your adversary’s lawyer will probably attend the deposition and can consult with the deponent during recesses (breaks in the testimony), it C O U R T S A N D M E D I A T I O N 17.9 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l is the deponent who has to answer the questions. By contrast, attorneys often play a major role in preparing the answers to written interrogato- ries and usually advise clients how to answer them in a way that provides you with as little informa- tion as possible. • You can use a deposition to learn and ask about documents (or other tangible items) by simply using a Notice of Deposition (to depose your opponent) or a subpoena duces tecum (to depose a nonparty wit- ness). In either case you can list items you want the deponent to bring to the deposition. Unfortunately, deposing an adver- sary or a witness who supports your adversary also has some disadvantages. Weigh these considerations very care- fully before you decide to take a depo- sition: • Depositions are the most expensive discovery tool. Even if you are representing yourself (and therefore not paying an attorney to take or attend a deposition), you must pay a court reporter to transcribe the testimony and prepare a written transcript. While costs vary some- what by locality, it’s not unusual for a court reporter to charge up to $5.00 per page of transcript. A day of deposition testimony fills up about 150 pages, meaning that a day-long deposition may cost you around $750. If you win your case, however, the judge may order your adversary to pay your deposition costs. • If you are involved in a lawsuit against a good-sized business or governmental entity and haven’t investigated thoroughly enough to know which witnesses are most likely to have important informa- tion, you may end up paying dearly to depose a witness whose main answers are, “I don’t know.” By contrast, written interrogatories give you access to “corporate knowl- edge.” This means that when you send interrogatories to an adversary that is a business or other entity, any employee with knowledge has to contribute to the answers. • Effective deposition questioning is a difficult skill, even for many attor- neys. You have to pose questions carefully in order to be confident that you know how adverse wit- nesses will testify at trial. If ques- tions are vague or you forget to cover a topic, you won’t be prepared for your opponent’s evidence at trial or be able to show that a witness has changed a story and therefore should not be believed. • Your adversary’s lawyer can be present at a deposition. The attorney may throw you off track by object- ing to your questions. Also, an adversary’s attorney can help wit- nesses “refresh their recollections” during recesses. Finally, seeing you in action will allow the attorney to estimate your own credibility, and by listening to your questions often learn as much about your case as you learn about your adversary’s. • If you depose an adverse witness who becomes unavailable for trial, you enable the adversary to offer the deposition transcript into evidence at trial. N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w 17.10 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l How do I take a deposition? Start by checking your local court rules (see Court Information Online, above). Then read Nolo’s Deposition Handbook, by Paul Bergman and Albert Moore, which contains detailed instructions on how to ask and answer questions. Pay particular attention to the time window for taking deposi- tions and understand exactly how to notify a person whose deposition you want to take. Under all rules, you’ll need to select a date and location for the deposition, arrange and pay for a court reporter’s presence (many are listed in phone books), and give the deponent and opposing counsel (or your self-represented adversary) at least ten days’ written notice. Even better, as a courtesy, talk to all the necessary people ahead of time to try to arrange a mutually convenient date and location. If you want to depose a “non-party witness” (someone other than your adversary), you’ll probably have to serve the witness with an official court form called a “Subpoena re Deposi- tion.” If you want the non-party wit- ness to bring documents to the depo- sition, use instead a form carrying the fancy title “Subpoena Duces Tecum re Deposition.” (These forms should be available from a court clerk.) List the documents you want the witness to bring along, and state briefly how they pertain to the case. Once the deposition has been scheduled, follow these tips to learn as much information as you can: • Prepare a list of questions before you take a witness’s deposition. You need not slavishly follow the list, but having one to refer to should prevent you from forgetting impor- tant topics. • Bring (or subpoena) copies of any written statements about the case that the deponent has previously given. For example, bring the police report if the witness gave a state- ment to a police officer who in- cluded it in the report, or the witness’s own declaration (statement under oath) if one was attached to a document filed in court. Ask the deponent to amplify on and fill any holes in a statement’s contents, then check to see if the deponent in any way contradicts a prior statement. If so, you might ask the witness to repeat the contradictory statement. That way, if you impeach (attack the credibility of) the witness at trial, the witness cannot easily wriggle out by saying, “I made a careless mistake during my deposi- tion.” • Bring copies of any other documents about which you want to question the witness, regardless of whether the witness wrote the document or has any connection to it. For ex- ample, you may want to know whether the witness ever saw a document, the date on which the witness saw it or whether the witness is aware of the information in the document. • Review and bring along all paper- work relating to the case organized chronologically, including the complaint, answer and any motions or court rulings. These documents C O U R T S A N D M E D I A T I O N 17.11 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l can help if an issue arises concerning the relevance of your questions. When my case finally makes it to the courtroom, I’m afraid I won’t know what to say, when to say it or even where to stand. How can I learn what to do? It’s not hard to learn how to conduct yourself in court. This is especially true if your trial is before a judge without a jury, because when dealing with a self-represented person many judges make an effort to simplify jar- gon and procedure. And there are several practical steps you can take to learn the ropes: • Attend a few trials involving similar issues. You’ll see that it won’t be that difficult to present your story and evidence to a judge. • Carefully read a self-help book such as Nolo’s Represent Yourself in Court, by Attorneys Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman-Barrett, which explains what you’ll need to do in great detail. For example, you’ll want to prepare and practice a brief but thorough opening statement to tell the judge what your case is about. • Prepare a Trial Notebook which outlines each major aspect of your trial and what you need to do and say at each point. For example, based on taking the other side’s deposition or asking written ques- tions (interrogatories), you probably have a pretty good idea what she will say when she testifies. Clearly, it’s a good idea to use your Trial Notebook to prepare a carefully crafted outline of what you plan to ask her in court. Similarly, because you will know before trial who else will testify for the other side, your Trial Notebook should contain a well-organized list of points you want to cover when you have a chance to question (cross-examine) them. A Typical Trial Allowing for many possible variations, most trials begin with each side making an opening statement—each party presents an overview of his case, includ- ing what he expects to prove. The next stage is direct examination, during which the plaintiff (the person who filed the suit) presents her testimony about what hap- pened and supports it with witnesses’ statements and other relevant evidence. After each of the plaintiff’s witnesses testifies, the defendant gets a chance to cross-examine them. In doing so, the defendant attempts to produce testimony favorable to his version of events and to cast doubt on the reliability or credibility of the plaintiff’s witnesses. Finally, each side gets to make a closing argument explaining to the judge or jury why they should win. What types of evidence win trials? As mentioned above, in addition to having a legally sound case, you need to be able to prove it before a judge or jury. Technically, this means estab- lishing each required legal element of N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w 17. 12 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l your cause of action by a preponder- ance (more than 50%) of the evidence. (See above, “How do I decide if I have a good case?”) Practically, it usually means focusing on one or two dis- puted elements of a case (did your remodeling contractor breach the contract by using substandard materi- als, doing poor work or installing equipment not called for in the con- tract?). Unfortunately, too many self- represented litigants try to rely pri- marily on their own oral rendition of events and overlook the need to back this up with tangible evidence. De- pending on the key issues that must be proved, this normally means pre- senting things like photos, contracts, cost estimates to redo the work or government records. In addition, it typically involves presenting wit- nesses who either saw or heard what happened (overheard a boss demand- ing sex with a subordinate) or are qualified to render an expert opinion on a key aspect of the case (a master tile layer who will testify that the installation of the tile floor in your kitchen was botched). What about actually examining (presenting) witnesses? I’m more than a little intimidated by having to act like Perry Mason. And well you should be. It’s not easy being an actor, especially one who died years ago. But fortunately, ap- pearing in a routine court proceeding isn’t that difficult, as long as you know the basic rules. For instance, when you present the testimony of eyewitnesses or expert witnesses, you do so by asking a series of questions. First you need to establish that your eyewitness has personal knowledge of the event in question, or that an ex- pert witness is qualified to render an opinion on the issues in dispute. This normally means you must show that your eyewitness personally observed, heard, smelled, touched or tasted whatever he is testifying to—for ex- ample, that your witness was on the spot and overheard the contractor you are suing talking to someone about the details of your garage job. Or in the case of an expert witness, her opinion is based on a careful and accu- rate review of the facts of the case. Second, you must learn to ask ques- tions that allow that person to explain whatever it is he knows that supports your case without putting words into his mouth (called “leading the wit- ness”). You can learn the basic tech- niques of how to question a witness and how to object to any improper questions asked by reading a good self-help book. You’ve said a lot about trials before judges. Don’t I have a right to have my civil case heard by a jury? For some types of cases, such as those involving child support or custody, or a request for an injunction (to stop the city from cutting down a tree, for example), you are not entitled to a jury trial. And in some courts, the parties in all small civil cases must first try to resolve the case between themselves via mediation before initi- ating any type of trial. But in most C O U R T S A N D M E D I A T I O N 17.13 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l present effective testimony in court, cross- examine opponents and even pick a jury. Nolo’s Deposition Handbook, by Paul Bergman and Albert Moore (Nolo), thor- oughly covers the deposition process. Whether you are represented by a lawyer or self-representing, it explains how to prepare for your deposition, how to re- spond to questions and how to cope with the tricks lawyers may use to influence your testimony. It also contains an excel- lent chapter on deposing expert witnesses. The Criminal Law Handbook, by Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman-Barrett (Nolo), tells you what you’ll want to know if you or someone you love has been charged with a crime. The Lawsuit Survival Guide , by Joseph Matthews (Nolo), is designed to help people who are represented by a lawyer understand what’s going on in their case and better manage their own lawyer. Small Claims Court Small claims court judges resolve dis- putes involving relatively modest amounts of money. The people or busi- nesses involved normally present their cases to a judge or court commissioner under rules that encourage a minimum of legal and procedural formality. The judge then makes a decision (a judg- ment) reasonably promptly. Although procedural rules dealing with when and where to file and serve papers are estab- lished by each state’s laws and differ in detail, the basic approach to properly civil cases, including those involving personal injury, breach of contract, professional malpractice, libel or slan- der, you are entitled to a jury trial if you want one. You may, however, want to think twice before you request a jury trial; it will be more complicated and harder to handle a case before a jury on your own than it would be to represent yourself before a judge. Not only can it be tricky to participate in the jury selection process, but formal proce- dural and evidentiary rules will al- most surely be more rigorously en- forced when a jury is involved. In short, most who go it alone are better off avoiding this added level of com- plexity by trying their case in front of a judge. But, of course, the other party has a say, too, and if that person demands a jury, so be it. ef More Information About Representing Yourself in Court Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case , by Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman-Barrett (Nolo). We have mentioned this book a number of times because it is quite simply the only publication that competently explains all aspects of a civil court trial, including how to determine if you have a good case, line up persuasive witnesses, N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w 17. 14 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l preparing and presenting a small claims case is remarkably similar everywhere. How much can I sue for in small claims court? The limit is normally between $2,000 and $10,000, depending on your state. For instance, the maximum is $5,000 in California, $7,500 in Min- nesota, $3,000 in New York and $3,500 in Vermont. (See the chart below for your state’s limit.) Can any kind of case be resolved in small claims court? No. Small claims courts primarily resolve small monetary disputes. In a few states, however, small claims courts may also rule on a limited range of other types of legal disputes, such as evictions or requests for the return of an item of property (restitu- tion). You cannot use small claims court to file a divorce, guardianship, name change or bankruptcy, or to ask for emergency relief (such as an injunction to stop someone from do- ing an illegal act). When it comes to disputes involv- ing money, you can usually file in small claims court based on any legal theory that would be allowed in any other court—for example, breach of contract, personal injury, intentional harm or breach of warranty. A few states do, however, limit or prohibit small claims suits based on libel, slan- der, false arrest and a few other legal theories. Finally, suits against the federal government or a federal agency, or even against a federal employee for actions relating to his or her employ- ment cannot be brought in small claims court. Suits against the federal government normally must be filed in a federal District Court or other fed- eral court, such as Tax Court or the Court of Claims. Unfortunately, there are no federal small claims procedures available except in federal Tax Court. Are there time limits in which a small claims court case must be filed? Yes. States establish rules called “stat- utes of limitations” which dictate how long you may wait to initiate a law- suit after the key event giving rise to the lawsuit occurs or, in some in- stances, is discovered. Statutes of limi- tations rules apply to all courts, in- cluding small claims. You’ll almost always have at least one year to sue (measured from the event or, sometimes, from its discov- ery). Often, you’ll have much longer. But if you’re planning to sue a state or local government agency, however, you’ll usually need to file a formal claim with that agency within three to six months of the incident. Only after your initial timely complaint is denied are you eligible to file in small claims court. C O U R T S A N D M E D I A T I O N 17.15 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l SMALL CLAIMS COURT LIMITS FOR THE 50 STATES Alabama $3,000 Alaska $7,500 Arizona $2,500 (Small Claims Division); $5,000 (Regular Justice Court) Arkansas $5,000 California $5,000 (A plaintiff may not file a claim over $2,500 more than twice a year. The limit for suits involving a surety company is $4,000.) Colorado $7,500 Connecticut $3,500 (No limit for landlord-tenant cases involving security deposit claims) Delaware $15,000 District of Columbia $5,000 Florida $5,000 Georgia $15,000 Hawaii $3,500 Idaho $4,000 Illinois $5,000 (Small Claims); ($2,500 Cook County Pro Se Branch) Indiana $3,000 ($6,000 in Marion and Allen Counties) Iowa $4,000 Kansas $1,800 Kentucky $1,500 Louisiana $3,000 Maine $4,500 Maryland $2,500 Massachusetts $2,000 Michigan $3,000 Minnesota $7,500 Mississippi $2,500 Missouri $3,000 Montana $3,000 Nebraska $2,400 Nevada $5,000 [...]... Resolving Disputes, by Karl Slaikeu (Jossey-Bass), is a how-to mediation guide for lawyers, managers and human resource professionals C O U R T S A N D Dealing With l Your Lawyer l l l with lawyers l l For any number of reasons, you may l be frustrated with a lawyer you hired to do legal work for you Perhaps your l lawyer has failed to keep you inl formed about your case, to meet deadlines, to do... case yourself That’s because unless lots of money is involved it can often be hard to find a second lawyer who will agree to pick up your case in the middle Changing lawyers under a contingency fee arrangement usually means any eventual fee will have to be split between the two lawyers—and may mean the second lawyer has to clean up after the first I fired my lawyer, but I need my file How do I get it?... you would have to prove that the settlement your lawyer entered l mind that a lawyer who has not been into was for less than your case was l paid has far more motive to settle for a reasonable amount than does a lawyer worth l who has already received half of your if believe your l fee So, evenpartyou the big bill, itattorney is entitled to of often 17. 29 N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a makes sense... possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for personal use in California l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l How can I tell from reading a l criminal statute whether I’m l guilty of the crime it defines? All criminal statutes define crimes in l terms of required acts and a required l state of mind, usually described as the actor’s “intent.” These requirements l are known as the “elements” of the l offense... or breach of contract, a plaintiff has to prove her case only by a preponderance of the evidence—just over 50%.) As a practical matter, the high burden of proof in criminal cases means that judges and jurors are supposed to resolve all doubts about the meaning of the evidence in favor of the defendant With such a high standard imposed on the prosecutor, a defendant’s most common defense is often to... attempt to balance our desires for privacy against the legitimate needs of the police, the Fourth Amendment of the U.S Constitution prohibits “unreasonable” searches and seizures by state or federal law officers Generally, this means that the police may conduct a search of your home, barn, car, boat, office, personal or business documents, bank account records, trash barrel or any other property if:... your lawyer playing tennis with the same l “barracuda” who just tried to eat you for lunch But instead of firing your l lawyer on the spot, it makes more l sense to make an appointment to l clarify his relationship with your adversary’s lawyer l l l 17 30 o f E v e r y d a y L a w I’m worried that my lawyer may have misused money I paid as a retainer What should I do? If you seriously suspect your lawyer... pocket and finds both a cardboard cigarette box and a packet of heroin This action by the police officer— reaching into the pocket—would be deemed a permissible search under the rulings of most courts (to protect the officer’s safety), and the heroin could be admitted into court as evidence However, if the object felt by the officer was soft and obviously not a weapon, then reaching into the suspect’s... are usually scheduled within a few weeks N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a or, at most, a couple of months from the time of a request—and most sessions last only a few hours or a day, depending on the type of case In contrast, lawsuits often take many months, or even years, to resolve Another advantage of mediation is confidentiality With very few exceptions (for example, where a criminal act or child... My Lawyer Won’t l Call Me Back! l If your lawyer fails to return phone calls, l it isn’t malpractice, but it’s a sure sign of why your lawyer l trouble Try to find out (He may be busy, isn’t calling you back l rude, sick or procrastinating.) As you do l this, examinebethe possibility that your lawyer may avoiding you for a good reason—you may be too demanding l way deal with l A good or faxtothe lawyer . a good case? Lawyers break each type of lawsuit (“cause of action,” in attorney-speak) into a short list of required elements. As long as you know what the ele- ments are for your type of lawsuit,. initiate a lawsuit? Actually, it’s often fairly easy—espe- cially if you learn how to do the nec- essary legal research and prepare drafts of the papers, restricting your lawyer’s role to that of checking. 24 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l or, at most, a couple of months from the time of a request—and most ses- sions last only a few hours or a day, depending on the type of case. In contrast, lawsuits often take many months, or