Caught up in a civil lawsuit? This book explains each step of the civil litigation process from pre-litigation investigation through trial on the merits to give you the best chance of prevailing in your efforts whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant. Its detailed explanations of the various requirements of the litigation process are supported with detailed checklists that insure you leave nothing to chance as you work through the process and help you avoid the costly mistakes pro se litigants commonly make as they fight their lawsuits. Whether you are a plaintiff or defendant and whether you decide to employ a lawyer or represent yourself, this book gives you the information you need to make sure that you have the best chance of prevailing as you proceed. The Pro Se Litigant's Civil Litigation Handbook How to Represent Yourself in a Civil Lawsuit By Kenn Goldblatt AuthorHouse Copyright © 2016 Kenn Goldblatt All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5049-8432-4 Contents Introduction, ix, What is a Lawsuit?, 1, Before You Decide to Litigate, 4, Defining the Legal Issues Involved, 20, Knowing What the Law Actually Says, 26, Game Equipment, 32, Getting the Game Started, 39, The Rules of the Game, 41, Understanding Applicable Statutes, Rules and Regulations, 55, Making a Clear and Unambiguous Record, 60, Law of the Case, 63, Due Process: What It Is and What It Isn't, 66, Why Pro Se Litigants Have a Hard Time, 68, Doing It 'Right' if You Decide to Proceed Pro Se, 78, Deciding to 'Lawyer Up' or Not, 87, Fifty Shades of Unauthorized Practice of Law, 93, Focused and Precise Pleadings, 98, Effective Legal Research, 107, Effective Legal Writing, 123, 'Credible and Admissible Evidence' and How to Get It Admitted, 130, Testimony in Court and Out, 143, Getting Evidence Admitted and Keeping It Out, 157, 'Preserving' Witness Testimony, 170, Drafting Your Petition or Complaint, 172, Special Appearance Motions, 179, The Answer, 187, Now that the Parties are 'Joined', 191, Restraining Orders, Injunctions and Ex Parte Motions, 195, Alternative Dispute Resolution, 198, Why, When and How to Make Timely and Proper Objections, 202, Recognizing and Preventing Opposing Party Dirty Tricks, 207, How to Argue with a Judge, 211, Making Sure Transcripts are Made of all Court Proceedings, 214, Developing a Proposed Scheduling Order, 216, Discovery and the Rules, 219, Motions for Summary Judgment, 236, Drafting 'Proposed Orders' for the Judge, 244, Motions, 245, Frequently Used Motions, 255, Preparing for Trial, 277, Limiting Pretrial Skirmishes and Preventing Ambush, 301, Bench Trial or Jury?, 308, Trial Procedure, 320, The Trial, 322, Judgment, 329, Post Judgment Practice, 332, Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law, 336, Final Word, 343, Glossary, 345, Appendix Templates, 375, Pleading paper template, 377, Captions templates, 378, Template for plaintiff's original petition, 379, Jurisdiction paragraph templates, 381, Statement of facts template, 382, Ad Damnum section template, 384, Typical "motion" pleading template, 386, [Deposition Excerpt], 402, Proposed order(s) templates, 421, Motion to dismiss template, 424, Motion to strike template, 427, Motion for more definite statement template, 432, Motion to sever template, 435, Motion to change/transfer venue template, 439, General denial template(s), 441, Defendant's answer template(s), 442, Request for disclosure template, 444, Interrogatories template, 446, Requests for documents template, 448, Requests for admissions template, 452, Request for deposition by written questions template, 455, Notice of deposition template, 460, Subpoena template, 465, Subpoena duces tecum template, 467, Template for proposed order, 469, Template for motion to amend, 470, Motions for summary judgments template, 476, Proposed summary judgment order template, 485, Trial brief template, 488, CHAPTER 1 What is a Lawsuit? In simple terms for our purposes, a "lawsuit" is an action brought in a court of law by a person or organization claiming a personal or financial injury incurred from another party's or entity's actions that seeks a legal or "equitable" remedy. The formal and structured process is called "litigation." The person or entity bringing the lawsuit is called the "plaintiff" and the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought is called the "defendant." A lawsuit is an 'adversarial proceeding.' Its basic nature is a contest, conflict, or dispute. While you are expected to observe the customary rules of decorum, you are not expected to 'play nice.' Whether you are representing yourself or being represented by an attorney, the expectation is 'zealous representation.' The nature of a zealot is 'fervent, ardent, fervid, fanatical, passionate, impassioned, devout, devoted, committed, dedicated, hard-core, enthusiastic, eager, keen, vigorous, energetic, intense, and fierce.' By the time your