39
votes
Accepted
Why do courts dismiss cases as moot?
The court is not running away from the problem; Trump isn't president, so the problem has actually gone away.
Because there's no point in resolving a purely academic question, the courts generally ...
- 61.8k
38
votes
Accepted
Is a suit against a University Dorm for changing policies on a whim likely to succeed (USA)?
Arthur has no contractual relationship with OU, and therefore no right to be in any dorm, or anywhere w.r.t. the university. The university has no duty to Arthur. Alice has some relationship to the ...
- 217k
36
votes
Accepted
Why the obscure but specific description of Jane Doe II in the original complaint for Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity?
This case was filed in federal court under diversity jurisdiction, meaning that it’s a lawsuit between citizens of different states. In most cases, diversity jurisdiction requires “complete” diversity:...
- 24.2k
29
votes
Can a covert recording be used as evidence in UK civil court?
Yes, you can ask permission from the court. From this page (by a firm of solicitors):
Recording a conversation in secret is not a criminal offence and is not prohibited. As long as the recording is ...
- 14k
21
votes
Accepted
Can a civil court impose criminal contempt charges?
Can a civil court impose criminal contempt charges?
Yes.
can a judge in a civil trial impose an order along with damages that
would incur criminal contempt charges if Trump were to continue to
make ...
- 239k
18
votes
Accepted
Introducing evidence into trial in the US
How does one introduce evidence into trial? Do all evidences have to
be introduce into trial before trial starts? Can I bring evidences on
the day of the trial and introduce them on the fly to the ...
- 239k
16
votes
Accepted
Is there a time limit to initiating a legal complaint?
united-states
Overview
The big picture to keep in mind is that in the United States the applicable deadline for filing a lawsuit is very specific to the legal theory upon which relief is sought from a ...
- 239k
15
votes
Accepted
Could Alex Jones' lawyer have claimed back the data he should have produced in discovery?
This is a civil case in Texas.
See Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 193.3(d) and guidance. In the current PDF May 1 2022 those are on pages 199 and 121 respectively and I reproduce them below.
My ...
- 19.3k
15
votes
Do judges limit the amount of work required from each party's lawyers in a civil case to a reasonable amount?
A judge will limit each party to reasonable requests. But what is reasonable will be very dependent on the case.
If the plaintiff is attempting to bring a class action suit against a dozen companies ...
- 3,321
14
votes
Accepted
What would happen if Protagoras v Euathlus were heard in court today?
What would happen if Protagoras v Euathlus were heard in court today? what would have happened if this case were to be tried in a modern-day courtroom?
Generally speaking, Protagoras's position would ...
- 45.5k
14
votes
Can medical records ever be subpoenaed or discovered in any judicial context?
Yes in general
Generally, almost all western jurisdictions (be they civil law or common law) have some way to get medical records into evidence, be that via subpoenaing, or by discovery requests or ...
- 45.2k
13
votes
Accepted
Can lawyers ask about, and discriminate based on, iPhone ownership during a case involving Apple?
The question of whether they can ask these questions will be left to the trial judge. If the parties can make any kind of reasonable argument that consumers of one product or the other are likely to ...
- 61.8k
13
votes
Accepted
Difference between "dismissed with prejudice" vs. "res judicata"?
Res judicata (also called "claim preclusion") prevents relitigation of a dispute that was previously litigated or could have been been litigated in a case that was actually filed that was ...
- 239k
12
votes
An attorney can't afford to pay for professional services to search & retrieve required documents for civil & criminal proceedings, what happens next?
As a general rule, failure to comply with a court order is not contempt of court if compliance is impossible. In the unusual scenario you describe, the outcome will depend on the specific legal ...
- 9,356
12
votes
What is the difference between a "Complaint for Civil Protection Order" and a "Motion for Civil Protection Order"?
A complaint for a civil protection order is a stand alone lawsuit seeking protection order relief outside the context of any existing court case. In a new case, a filing fee must be paid and service ...
- 239k
11
votes
Is a suit against a University Dorm for changing policies on a whim likely to succeed (USA)?
Aside from all else, this will fail for lack of provable damages.
It's not even like Arthur had to rent a hotel room in lieu of expecting to sleep the night in the dorm room. That is not allowed, ...
11
votes
In a civil trial, can a party “call” its opponent’s witnesses in making its case?
ontario
Any party may call a witness that has relevant evidence (Rules 53.01 & 53.04). There is "no property in a witness" (see also Unifirst Canada Ltd. c. 9766065 Canada inc., 2021 ...
- 72.5k
11
votes
Is it possible to have multiple class action lawsuits for the same problem?
Can multiple class action lawsuits can be filed against the same
defendant for the same issue?
Yes.
Generally what happens in that the multiple lawsuits are consolidated. The process by which this is ...
- 239k
10
votes
Accepted
What remedies are there if it was subsequently discovered that a witness lied at trial?
What remedies are therein the United States? I would imagine that the
witness could be prosecuted for perjury. My guess is that the
plaintiff could prosecute the witness for the lost damages. Are ...
- 239k
9
votes
Accepted
Is a judge or jury "to assume or presume" testimony not given after invoking the fifth amendment would have been negative in a civil trial?
Is a judge or jury "to assume or presume" testimony not given after
invoking the fifth amendment would have been negative in a civil
trial?
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ...
- 239k
9
votes
Do judges limit the amount of work required from each party's lawyers in a civil case to a reasonable amount?
Alternative jurisdiction answer: england-and-wales
These sort of tactics don't work. The Courts have a number of tools available to them to prevent it under the Civil Procedure Rules.
Overriding ...
- 10.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to end up in prison due to failure to appear in court for a civil matter?
Prison v. Jail
First of all, failure to appear (in the U.S.) would led to incarceration in jail (a local government facility allowing for detention typically up to one year for misdemeanors), rather ...
- 239k
8
votes
Accepted
What's the point of a subpoena if you can just invoke the fifth amendment?
A subpoena is nothing more than court process compelling someone to testify as a witness or to produce documents in their possession, custody and control, or both, usually in connection with a court ...
- 239k
8
votes
Why do courts dismiss cases as moot?
Federal (Article III) courts only may adjudicate current and ongoing controversies, that exist along the whole case length.*
A case initially presenting all the attributes necessary for federal court ...
- 45.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Are courts "duty-bound" to enforce Rules of Procedure?
“Like the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are as binding as any statute duly enacted by Congress, and federal courts have no more discretion to disregard the ...
- 61.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Default judgement when the court can't provide the requested relief
A federal court may dismiss a complaint sua sponte (i.e. without a request to do so from a party) if it is beyond its subject matter jurisdiction (a category of defenses including lack of standing) or ...
- 239k
8
votes
Accepted
In what cases is a U.S. Federal Executive Official named in a lawsuit in their official capacity as a defendant and when is the US itself named?
There are two main main circumstances in which individual officials are named.
One is where the relief sought is non-monetary and the official has the ability to provide the relief, such as a habeas ...
- 239k
8
votes
Can arbitral proceedings and national court litigation proceed in parallel?
Yes, they can litigate and arbitrate at the same time. It may not be a classically Good Idea but the commercial disputes cited below show that it happens.
The court does have an inherent power to stay ...
- 8,512
7
votes
Accepted
Is spousal immunity affected if one spouse dies?
Privilege May Be Irrelevant In Your Case
In a criminal case in the U.S., a criminal prosecution is moot and dismissed if the criminal defendant dies (or even if the criminal defendant is convicted ...
- 239k
7
votes
Accepted
Why would a landlord put the following in a residential rental agreement?
None of the three factors you identify is correct.
With respect to reason (1):
The belief that a judge is likely to be landlord friendly on the merits, while a factor favoring a bench trial is ...
- 239k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible