TABLE OF CONTENTS

All I Have To Do Now Is Show Up Right?

It's The Day Of The Hearing! It's Time To Panic!

Courtroom Tips

The Hearing

Judgment And Post-Judgment:

GLOSSARY

LEGAL TERMS

APPEAL

A request by either party to take a case to a higher court for review. No new evidence may be introduced in the appellate court. The reviewing court only considers whether errors occurred during the prior proceedings.

APPEARANCE

The act of a party or an attorney showing up in court.

CALENDAR

The list of cases scheduled for hearing in court each day.

CASE LAW

Law established by precedent, predominantly decisions of state Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court, used to support your position. Any opinion cited by a district court or another state is merely persuasive. It is not controlling law.

CLOSING ARGUMENT

The closing statement by counsel, or small claim party (if allowed) to the trier of facts after all parties have concluded their presentation of evidence.

COUNTERCLAIM

A claim made by a defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff, included within the Defendant's Answer to the Plaintiff.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

The examination of a witness who has already testified in order to test, discredit or impeach the witness's testimony, knowledge, or credibility.

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

When a defendant is in default, the court enters an order in favor of the plaintiff. The court may in its discretion overturn a default judgment.

DEFENDANT

The person(s) or other entity against which a claim is filed.

DIRECT EXAMINATION

The first questioning of a witness by the party on whose behalf he or she is called.

DISCOVERY

The pretrial process by which one party discovers the facts and evidence the opposing party will rely upon at trial.

DISMISSAL

The termination of a lawsuit. A dismissal without prejudice allows the plaintiff the option to file again at a later date. A dismissal with prejudice prevents the lawsuit from being brought again in the future in any form.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Any document that is admitted as evidence in a trial or hearing, as distinguished from oral testimony.

EVIDENCE

A fact presented before a court such as a witness' statement, a tangible object, etc. that relates to or establishes a fact in contention.

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE

A contract between the air carrier and the passenger specifying obligations, rights, warranties and disclaimers between the parties.

HOSTILE WITNESS

A witness whose testimony is not favorable to the party calling the witness. A hostile witness may be questioned with leading questions and crossed-examined by the party who called the witness to the stand.

INTERROGATORIES

Written questions propounded by one party and served on the opposing party. The opposing party may object to the Interrogatories, but must still provide written answers under oath. This is one discovery tool.

JUDGMENT

A final determination by the court of the rights and claims of the parties in the action, whether by default, summary judgment, declaratory judgment, consent judgment or verdict.

JUDGMENT DEBTOR

The losing party in a lawsuit who owes the amount of the judgment to the successful party.

JURISDICTION

The extent of the court's legal authority in a specific geographical area to interpret and apply the law. Types of jurisdictional power include subject matter, personal, territorial, concurrent and appellate jurisdiction.

MOTION

An oral or written request by a party before, during or after the trial to issue a ruling or order. Usually a motion concerns an issue within the court's discretion.

NOTICE

Formal notification to the party that has been sued in a civil case of the fact that the lawsuit has been filed.

NOTICE OF APPEAL

A filing made with an appellate court to appeal a ruling made by a lower court.

OATH

Written or oral pledge by a person to speak the truth.

OPENING STATEMENT PARTY

The initial statement made by attorneys for each side, outlining the facts each intends to establish during the trial.

PLAINTIFF

The person(s) or entity filing a claim against another person or entity.

SERVICE PROCESS

The act of providing an opposing party with notice of a pleading or action to assure that the opposing party is aware an action has been filed and is given an opportunity to appear.

STATUTE

A law adopted by the legislature.

SUBPOENA

Order of the court requiring a witness to attend and testify at trial.

Judgment And Post-Judgment

At the end of the trial the judge will normally announce his or her decision. Sometimes, however, the judge will want to take additional time to review the evidence or research case law before entering a final judgment. This is called taking the case "under advisement". When this occurs, you will receive a copy of the final judgment in the mail after the judge makes his or her decision.

Different jurisdictions have different rules regarding motions for appeals and request for a new trail. In either case the motion must be in writing. In some jurisdictions like California, there are no appeals. The judgment is final. In other jurisdictions like New York only a defendant can file an appeal or the plaintiff if "substantial injustice" was done. In states like Ohio either party can appeal matters of law, not fact within 30 days of judgment. In some states such as Michigan either party may file a motion for a new trial within a specific number of days from entry of the judgment. Check Picking the Right State for more information. Depending upon the rules in your state the appealing party will be required to post a bond and either party may be able to request a jury trial.

Appeals:

To appeal a decision, if available, you must file a notice of appeal with the clerk of the Superior Court, Circuit Court or similar court in your jurisdiction. In most states an appeal must be filed no later than 10 to 30 days from the date judgment is entered. Again check your jurisdiction, as for example in D.C. you have the option to request that the judgment be "stayed" (not take effect immediately) because you intend to appeal. A motion for judicial review must be filed with the clerk within 10 business days.

An appeal is NOT a new trial. You are not allowed to present new facts or retry old facts. You are only permitted to argue errors of law, not fact based upon the record of the hearing. Therefore you may want to consider requesting that a court reporter be present to preserve the record. As you will be in Superior Court and formal rules of civil procedure and evidence will apply, you may want to consult an attorney if you choose this course of action due to the complexity of the rules and procedures.

Motion For A New Trial:

To request a new trial you must file a written motion with the clerk of the Superior Court, Circuit Court or similar court requesting a new trail. Be sure to check with the court as the time limit to file from the day judgment is entered varies from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction from on average 5 to 10 days. In some states, such as D.C. you will have the option to request a new trial by filing a motion for judicial review that must be filed with the clerk within 10 business days. If the review is denied you will only have 3 business days to file your appeal to be heard in D.C. Court.

I Won! Now How Do I Collect?

You have to enforce your own judgment. The court in most states will not run after the defendant for you. The court's judgment, in itself, is nothing more than an official statement in the court's records that the defendant owes you a specific amount of money with interest. The judgment must be enforced out of the assets of the defendant. An airline as a large corporation in a small claims case is typically not going to appeal a judgment. They will normally pay the judgment and move on because to fight paying the small amount once a judgment is entered would far exceed the damages owed, including accruing interest.

However, if the airline refuses to recognize the judgment there are several things you can do to enforce collection of the judgment. You may also contact the court clerk as well as legal aid organizations for more assistance.

• Use Summons to Answer Interrogatories, Application and Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination or similar documents to require the judgment debtor to provide information about its assets in order to use for court collection procedures.
• If you have also named individual defendants you take a lien against any real estate owned by the losing party, referred to as the judgment debtor.
• Obtain a Writ to have the judgment debtor's personal property sold at public auction to pay the judgment.
• Obtain a Garnishment Summons to secure payment from the judgment debtor's bank account or earnings.

 Back to Table of Contents