Civil Lawsuit FAQs

Responding to a Civil Suit
For most of our clients, being sued in a civil action is a new experience, and they often don't know what questions to even ask when they first learn someone has filed a complaint against them. Below are answers to some questions we have heard a lot from business owners in this situation.  You can also read more about what to expect as a defendant in a civil suit.

Are My Personal Assets At Risk?

 If you incorporated your business, you probably did so for exactly this reason- to protect your personal assets from your business' liabilities. In most circumstances, as long as you have followed the basic formalities of your corporate entity, the person suing your business cannot reach your personal assets. There are some exceptions to this. Certain employment law claims can reach the owner individually, which you should address with your attorney early on as part of the overall assessment of defenses and risk.

Does the Answer Date on the Summons Mean I Have to Appear in Court?

Unless the plaintiff has filed something called a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, the answer date is just the date that your attorney must file an answer. An answer is simply a legal document that admits or denies the factual assertions in the complaint, and lists the legal defenses you are claiming. If you have counterclaims (legal claims you have against the person or business bringing the suit), they will be included in this document. Also, if you have grounds to move to dismiss the complaint (see below), this is the date on which your attorneys will have to file that motion.

Can I Ask the Court to Dismiss the Claims?

There are basically three points in a lawsuit where the court can dispose of the claims against you: a motion to dismiss at the beginning of a case, a motion for summary judgment after the parties have completed discovery, and after all of the evidence at trial. 

To dismiss a case at the very beginning, you have to have a legal defense that would defeat the plaintiff's claims even if all of the facts they claim were true. If the claim was brought outside of the statute of limitations, you may be able to dismiss it based on their failure to meet time limits. Another example is if the plaintiff was required to first go to an administrative agency and failed to do so. Rarely, but sometimes, a complaint simply fails to claim facts that would support the plaintiff's claims. More often than not, you will have to go through at least some discovery before you can ask the court to dismiss the claims. You should discuss with your attorney whether there are any legal issues in play that could support a motion to dismiss.

Can I Counter Sue the Plaintiff?

There are always at least two sides to the story, and very often when a plaintiff files a lawsuit, the person or business being sued also has a dispute or potential claim against the plaintiff. If your claim is related to the one in the lawsuit (for example, if you are being sued for breaching a contract you may also believe the plaintiff breached the same contract), then you must bring it is a counterclaim in the same action. 

This means that when your attorney files an answer to the plaintiff's complaint he or she will also lay out your counterclaim in the same document, which the plaintiff will have to answer in the time allowed under the rules. If your complaint is not related to the events raised in the original complaint, you may still want to assert the counterclaim in the same action, either for a strategic purpose or simply to put all of the issues on the table in the same proceeding. Our initial assessment of your defenses to the claim always includes an assessment of claims you may have against the plaintiff so that you can make an informed decision about whether to include them in the lawsuit.

Need Help With a Civil Lawsuit?

How Much Does a Lawsuit Cost?

Perhaps as upsetting as being sued in the first place is realizing that you have a new and unexpected expense in the form of legal fees. We can't make that go away, but will do everything we can to make it manageable for you. This includes offering the initial analysis and assessment at a flat rate, so that you know what to expect, and can make an informed decision about whether to fight the claim or try to resolve it, before you have spent a lot of money. If you choose to fight the claim, we can provide estimates for each stage of the work, and for each stage we give you the choice of being billed by the hour or paying a flat fee. This does not make the process free, but at least gives you some predictability. We may also be able to offer you a payment plan for legal fees, depending on the circumstances. 

What if I Don't Want to Fight the Claim?

This is a 100% fair question, given the real costs of defending yourself in court. In most cases, if that is your decision you can usually reach an early settlement with the person bring the suit by paying some amount of money. Unfortunately, settlement also depends on the other side being reasonable, which neither you nor your lawyers can control, but if an early settlement is your priority we will make that a priority in developing our strategy for you.

Can I File for Bankruptcy?

If you are eligible for bankruptcy, that is sometimes an option when you are facing a large judgment or liability. If you think this is a possibility, you should consult a bankruptcy expert (we can provide referrals). You should know that certain kinds of claims cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, including claims for fraud or breach of fiduciary duty.

Do I Have to Hire a Lawyer?

If you are sued individually (meaning it is you as a person named in the lawsuit and not your business) you have the right to represent yourself (this is called proceeding pro se). There are significant risks to this, because even a simple misunderstanding of the procedural rules can seriously disadvantage you, and without knowledge of the substantive law you may miss important defenses. If your business is named in the suit, it must be represented by a licensed attorney in order to present any defenses or counterclaims in the lawsuit, and your business can be defaulted (meaning the court enters a judgment against it) if nobody appears on its behalf.

Can I Use Alternative Dispute Resolution?

If you and the other side have a contract in which you have agreed to an alternative dispute resolution procedure like arbitration or mediation, you can insist on using that. Even if you don't have this provision in a contract, if the parties agree you could attempt to resolve the dispute this way. Arbitration is like a regular trial in a civil case, except there is no jury and the "judge" is a privately appointed person called an arbitrator. Mediation involves a third party neutral called a mediator who tries to help the parties come to a mutual agreement. You can read more about the differences between arbitration and mediation here.

This Claim is Frivolous- Can I Make Them Pay My Attorneys Fees?

If you have a contract with the other side with a provision that says the winning party in a lawsuit is entitled to attorneys' fees, then yes. Otherwise, unfortunately, the "American Rule" in civil litigation is that each party is responsible for their own fees no matter who wins. If the lawsuit arises under certain employment laws (i.e., wage and hour or anti discrimination or retaliation laws), you may actually be liable for the plaintiff's attorneys' fees if they win. But part of our review of your defenses includes a review of claims you may have against the plaintiff (called "counterclaims") which can serve as an offset to anything they are claiming against you.

How We Can Help

We have years of experience representing individuals and small businesses in litigation involving business and employment disputes in Massachusetts state and federal courts.  If the subject matter of your lawsuit is within our areas of expertise, we can work with you to assess your risk, evaluate your defenses and any counterclaims you may have, and create and implement the strategy that is right for you.  If the lawsuit is about something we do not have experience with, we can provide you a referral to someone with the correct expertise.

You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, give us a call at  781-784-2322, or fill out our web form  to let us know a little more about your situation.