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The person initiating the civil suit is known as the plaintiff, and the person being sued is the defendant or the respondent. A civil action is known by the names of the plaintiff and the defendant, such as Jones v. Miller. In a typical situation, the plaintiff's attorney pays a fee and files a complaint or petition with the clerk of the proper court. The complaint states the facts on which the action is based, the damages alleged, and the judgment or relief being sought.

The decision about which court should actually hear the case involves the concepts of jurisdiction and venue: Jurisdiction deals with a court's authority to exercise judicial power, and venue means the place where that power should be exercised.

Jurisdictional requirements are satisfied when the court has legal authority over both the subject matter and the person of the defendant. This means that several courts can have jurisdiction over the same case. Suppose, for example, that a resident of Dayton, Ohio, is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Tennessee when the car he is driving is struck from the rear by a car driven by a resident of Kingsport, Tennessee. Total damages to the Ohio driver and car come to about $80,000. A state trial court in Ohio has subject matter jurisdiction, and Ohio can in all likelihood obtain jurisdiction over the defendant. In addition, the state courts of Tennessee probably have jurisdiction. Federal district courts in both Ohio and Tennessee also have jurisdiction because diversity of citizenship exists and the amount in controversy is over $75,000. Assuming that jurisdiction is the only concern, the plaintiff can sue in any of these courts.

The determination of proper venue may be prescribed by statute based on avoiding possible prejudice, or it may simply be a matter of convenience. The federal law states that proper venue is the district in which either the plaintiff or defendant resides, or the district where the injury occurred.

Venue questions may also be related to the perceived or feared prejudice of either the judge or the prospective jury. Attorneys sometimes object to trials being held in a particular area for this reason and may move for a change of venue.

Once the appropriate court has been determined and the complaint has been filed, the court clerk will attach a copy of the complaint to a summons, which is then issued to the defendant. The summons may be served by personnel from the sheriff's office, a U.S. marshal, or a private process-service agency.

The summons directs the defendant to file a response, known as a pleading, within a certain period of time (usually 30 days). If the defendant does not do so, then he or she may be subject to a default judgment.

These simple actions by the plaintiff, clerk of the court, and a process server set in motion the civil case. What happens next is a flurry of activities that precedes an actual trial and may last for several months. Approximately 75 percent of cases are resolved without a trial during this time.

 

Figures, Dates, Notions	Facts, Events, Definitions
Model: a plaintiff	Model: a person initiating the civil suit
a defendant
a complaint
jurisdiction
venue
$80,000
$75,000
a summons
30 days
75