Why Does a Civil Lawsuit Take so Long to Get to Trial?

January 20, 2014. Most movies and television shows do a poor job of showing the world how legal disputes actually get resolved. On television and the big screen, litigation is typically portrayed as a fast process. A hot shot lawyer files a significant lawsuit and, seemingly two weeks later, the jury is selected, the media is on hand, and the “trial of the century” commences. However, the reality is that most lawsuits are not “made for TV.”

The average lawsuit takes 18 months to get to trial right now. A dispute rarely gets to trial within one year after the lawsuit is filed. Why? Multiple reasons. First, our courts have heavy caseloads. Judges are very busy. They are strapped for resources and their calendars fill up quickly. Typically, when a trial date is assigned, the first available date is more than a year away (not counting criminal cases, as a ciriminal defendant has a right to a speedy trial).

Second, there is a process in place that all civil lawsuits generally follow (yes, I am generalizing here – every case is unique in some respects, I am not talking about small disputes, and the applicable procedural rules vary depending on where your lawsuit is filed). Here’s the general process:

• Lawsuit is filed: The defendant then gets, typically, 20 to 30 days to file a response.
• Discovery: After the defendant responds to the lawsuit, the parties then serve “discovery” on each other, meaning they ask questions the other party has to answer under oath and they request the production of various documents. The parties usually get 30 days to provide those responses.
• Discovery disputes: After discovery responses are provided, it is not uncommon for the lawyers to “meet and confer” for a period of time, trying to resolve any disputes regarding the sufficiency of the information provided and the adequacy of the documents produced. If the parties do not resolve their disputes, they file motions which are typically briefed before the court issues a ruling on the issue(s), usually a month after the motion is filed.
• Depositions: After the parties have resolved issues regarding the documents produced and information provided, depositions take place. When multiple attorneys and witnesses are involved, it can be difficult to schedule depositions. Frequently, it takes 2-4 months to schedule and take non-expert depositions.
• Experts: If the case requires expert witnesses, then another 1-2 months is exhausted while the parties finalize their experts’ opinions before the experts’ depositions take place.
• Summary Judgment: Before trial, the parties might file “motions for summary judgment,” which are motions which basically say “hey Judge, here are the facts and the law, and this case should not proceed to trial because my client should prevail right now.” When summary Judgment motions are filed, the other party files a resistance, and the party who filed the motion usually files a reply brief. This process alone takes about a month. Thereafter, the court may issue a rule on the motion with or without a court hearing. Sometimes, the court takes several weeks if not a few months to rule on the motion(s).
• Trial preparation: Jury instructions, pretrial motions, preparation of exhibits, outline of witness examinations – all of this takes time as well.

As you can see, there are a lot of moving pieces that must fall into place before most lawsuits proceed to trial. Therefore, it is usually next to impossible to get a civil lawsuit to trial quickly these days. Rest assured, your lawyer is probably not the “reason” your case is taking so long to get to trial. To the contrary, a competent trial attorney will usually need at least one full year to go through the above-outlined process to adequately and competently prepare your case for trial. Try to be patient.

Goosmann Law Firm, PLC is ready to help you right now. Contact us at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712.226.4000.