Business Litigation In Los Angeles: What Can You Expect?

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Business lawsuits in the Los Angeles Superior Court follow certain timelines and procedures. While many of the procedures are similar throughout California courts, this article is geared towards explaining what to expect when you are a party to business litigation in Los Angeles.

If you or your business seeks to initiate litigation, you are the plaintiff and must hire an experienced business litigation attorney to file a complaint. You should expect to meet with the attorney to go over your situation. The attorney will review the relevant documents (contract, partnership or shareholder agreement, real estate escrow documents, etc.) and prepare a legal complaint. The complaint is filed with the court and served on the defendants.

While plaintiffs are anxious to see progress, the next step is waiting. A defendant must first be found and served. Once served the defendant has 30 days in which to respond. A response may be an Answer (in which the defendant usually denies the allegations), a Demurrer (in which the defendant challenges the complaint on the grounds that it fails to state a legal cause of action) ...
... or, much less common, a Motion to Quash the Summons (in which the defendant challenges the jurisdiction of the court, usually because the defendant is out of state).

Early on in the litigation a party may seek a provisional remedy, such as a writ of attachment. In a writ of attachment, the plaintiff must prove that it is reasonably probable to prevail and therefore seeks an attachment (like a lien) on defendant’s property or bank account. This can be very powerful. Other early motions include a motion to expunge a lis pendens (or Notice of Pending Action). A lis pendens is recorded in a real estate lawsuit when the ownership or possession of a piece of property is at issue in the litigation. The defendant may challenge the right of the plaintiff to a lis pendens by bringing this motion (and showing that either ownership or possession is not an issue or that defendant is likely to prevail).

Most business litigation, whether it be real estate, corporate or commercial litigation, then enters the discovery phase. This is when the parties try to discover the facts, documents and witnesses who will be involved in the lawsuit. Discovery includes depositions (sessions where attorneys ask witnesses questions), requests for documents (written requests for the other side’s emails, letters, contracts and other documents), special and form interrogatories (written questions to the other side relating to issues in the lawsuit) and requests for admission (written requests asking the other party to admit certain facts or conclusions of law). If a party does not comply with its discovery obligations, the other party may need to make motions to the court to force compliance.

In cases where the facts are undisputed, parties will often bring a motion for summary judgment. A summary judgment motion asks the court to consider the undisputed facts, to apply the law and to render a judgment. If a question of fact exists, the parties must go to trial. However, if no facts are in dispute, the court can resolve the lawsuit on a motion for summary judgment.

In the Los Angeles Superior Court, the judges will often order the parties to engage in some type of alternative dispute resolution, usually a mediation. Mediation involves the parties meeting with a third party neutral who will try to get the parties to agree to a settlement. If mediation is not successful, the court may order a Mandatory Settlement Conference, in which a judge will try to get the parties to settle. Both of these processes are based on mutual agreement rather than a court reaching a decision.

If the case does not settle, the parties will have a trial. In some litigation the parties have a right to a jury trial while in other cases they do not. The preparation and work involved in bringing a case to trial is often very time consuming and expensive, especially for a jury trial. Jury trials can be expected to last longer and involve more preparation than a court trial (in which the judge hears the case without a jury). In Los Angeles it will usually take between one to one and a half years to have a case go to trial.
Obviously this is an overview of litigation in Los Angeles. Your attorney should be able to explain the particulars of your lawsuit.

Real estate law attorneys: Laine T. Wagenseller handles corporate and real estate litigation, much of it in the Los Angeles Superior Court. He is the founder of Wagenseller Law Firm, a business litigation law firm in downtown Los Angeles. For more articles and information on the firm, visit www.wagensellerlaw.com. You can contact Mr. Wagenseller at (213) 996-8338 or ltw@wagensellerlaw.com.