Work Product

Today I just put the finishing touches on four complaints. For the non-legal reader, a complaint is a request for a court to grant you relief. Here's an example:

1. My name is Bob.
2. The other guy's name is Jethro.
2. Jurisdiction (power of court to hear claim) is proper.
3. Venue (place of court to hear claim) is proper.
4. Jethro maliciously stole my prize heifer.
5. Such harm is irreparable.
6. Premises considered, I ask for $2000 or whatever relief the court deems just and equitable.

Oddly enough, one could type that up and file it, and it just might fly in federal court, once the complaint is served with the summons. All that's basically required is notice.

Of course, the four I worked on were a bit longer- running on average 4-5 pages each. That's because one of the points of a complaint is to get the other guy to think long and hard about possibly settling the case. That's also where exhibits come in- you want the other guy to know what you have (because he'd see it anyway in discovery- the part where you basically swap stuff) so he can see what he's dealing with. If you truly have a good case, it'll be obvious.

One of them had six different exhibits to attach.

Another invoked Section 1331 of the United States Code- federal question jurisdiction. It'll be filed soon, after I print out the summons. It's funny- you hear about Section 1331 all the time in Civil Procedure class- now I'm actually invoking it. Big difference, there.

I've learned that the system weeds out most frivolous claims before they're even filed- good lawyers tend to act like mini-judges; that is, they don't file claims that don't appear to have a very good chance of winning. It's just a giant waste of time.

(My boss/lawyer calls me the "Small Claims Division," but right now I'm getting ready to file a complaint for enough money to easily meet the amount-in-controversy requirement of federal court. My law school peers will know what that means.)

Now, onto Requests for Admissions and Counterclaims...