Civil Lawsuit Complaint Attorney Alexandria VA

Civil Lawsuit Complaint Circuit Court

A Civil Lawsuit Complaint is a set of facts which, if proven in court, would entitle you to a recovery. They are used, often in conjunction with other court forms, to begin a lawsuit in a Circuit Court in Virginia. Civil Complaints follow a standard format which if you understand them, can tell you a lot about the case. However, if you do not understand them, they can be quite complicated. If you would like to file a civil complaint or have been served with a civil complaint in Virginia please find a lawyer who can help you if you live near Fairfax, Loudon, and Arlington and Prince William counties. Otherwise, this guide goes over how they generally work.

The Caption

The caption of a case is usually a block separated in two halves. Above it, the title, tells you what court and county you are in. Inside the block contains all the necessary information of a case. The left side will display the plaintiffs name first and then all the defendants and their addresses. The right side will describe the case usually with a case number sometimes more information.

The Introduction

Each section of the complaint contains number paragraphs which allege some fact. We refer to these numbered lines as paragraphs. In the introduction, the first few sections include who is filing the case and then facts that allege why this court is being chose for this case, also known as the jurisdiction and venue. The jurisdiction is why this court has power over the Defendants or property. The venue is why this particular court is the convenient court for all parties.

The next section is the factual section. It states what facts are important for the case. This section does not allege any wrong or cause of action, it just serves as context for the next section, the Counts. The counts are what is actually being claimed. Each count is a separate cause of action which contains facts, if proven, would give rise to liability. Often times a case has multiple counts which are separated out as Count I and Count II and so on. Further each count ends with a wherefore statement which tells the court what they should decide based on the facts and what relief therefore they think they are entitled to.

The final section is the Prayer for Relief it summarizes all the counts together and then tells the court what they want to see out of the entire case. It is followed up by a signature which is very important. The signature in a civil complaint is a promise that you are bound to. It implies that the person filing the complaint is doing so in good faith and if it is later found that the complaint is not filed in good faith, can lead to sanctions or punishment by the court.

Contact Us

If you’re facing a Civil Lawsuit Complaint, contact Mughal Law Firm today. Our firm has Civil Law Attorneys in the Alexandria, VA area.