Civil Disputes & Litigation

What Is Civil Litigation

Civil litigation is the process of resolving a dispute between opposing parties through the court system. At Henry Street Law, our lawyers have 30 years litigation experience acting in and advising on disputes that vary from the local Magistrates Court to the High Court of Australia.

Civil law grants to individuals the right to sue for debt, compensation, damages or for specific performance depending on the individual circumstances of the case in matters such as breach of contract, defamation, tort and negligence.

When Can I Sue Someone?

If you feel that you’ve been wronged then you may be able to commence a lawsuit against the person who you believe has wronged you. The kinds of disputes that are dealt with under civil law include disputes between:-

• Customers and suppliers
• Business partners
• Landlords and tenants
• Buyers and sellers of property
• Home owners and builders
• Employees and employers
• Executors or beneficiaries in deceased estates
• Owners of copyrights and patents
• Creditors and debtors

Different kinds of legal cases have different time limitations imposed so it’s important that you seek legal advice quickly to find out if you can commence legal proceedings. If you are outside the time limit prescribed by statute, you may be prevented from commencing court proceedings for this reason.

How To File A Lawsuit – The Civil Litigation Process

Prior to court proceedings being commenced, the first course of action is always to seek a resolution to the dispute, saving both time and money. There are a number of alternative dispute resolution methods which can be used including round table negotiation, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration. At Henry Street Law, our dispute resolution lawyers can assist with this process.

If all attempts to settle the dispute fail then the dispute may be taken to trial.

Trial proceedings may be lengthy and somewhat complex, but involve the stages of commencing proceedings, pleadings (where the dispute is described by the plaintiff and defended by the defendant), discovery (disclosure of documents by both sides), trial (where the judge will hear the testimony of witnesses and make a ruling in the dispute), and sometimes settlement or appeal.

The particular court forms which need to be completed to commence a civil suit vary according to the type of dispute and your State so it’s best to seek legal advice from us in regard to this.

How We Can Help

We are experienced Traralgon litigation lawyers and have proven experience across a wide range of Victorian, Queensland and Federal civil litigation including:-

• Commercial litigation
• Business litigation
• Estate disputes
• Debt recovery
• Building and property disputes
• Breach of contract
• Breach of copyright
• Infringement of patents

Contact us on (03) 5181 6363 for more specific advice from an experienced litigation lawyer at our office in Traralgon about how we can assist you resolve your dispute, or send a web enquiry.