Iowa Claims Process - Walker Morgan LLC

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Iowa Claims Process

IA

Iowa Courts with Jurisdiction Over Civil Matters District Court Has exclusive jurisdiction over civil claims. Court of Appeals An intermediate appellate court; hears cases appealed from the District Court. Iowa Supreme Court The state's highest court; has discretionary appellate jurisdiction over Court of Appeals cases; also responsible for assigning cases to the Court of Appeals.

District Court

Court of Appeals

Iowa Supreme Court

exclusive jurisdiction over civil claims

intermediate appellate court; hears cases appealed from District Court

the state’s highest court; discretionary appellate jurisdiction over Court of Appeals cases

Pleadings In the beginning stages of a lawsuit, legal documents called pleadings are filed. To initiate the suit, the plaintiff files a Complaint which sets forth cause(s) of action against named Defendant(s). After the Plaintiff files the Complaint and properly serves the Complaint on the Defendant(s), the Defendant(s) then have 20 days to file an Answer. The Defendant(s)' Answer will respond to each of the causes of action in the Complaint and set forth any defenses, cross claims and/or counter claims.

Discovery

After the parties file all necessary pleadings, the discovery process will begin. This can include any of the following:

Interrogatories Formal questions and/or requests for information served on one party by and opposing party. The party served with interrogatories must provide written responses or respond with an objection.

Requests for Production of Documents Formal requests for certain documentation relevant to the claims and defenses.

Trial

Depositions Either a party or a non-party witness will provide oral testimony under oath in the presence of a court reporter.

Trials can take from 1 Day

If the parties have not reached a settlement, at the conclusion of discovery, the case then proceeds to trial. Depending on the complexity, a trial can take as little as a single day or as long as several weeks. At the conclusion of a typical civil trial, the jury will return a verdict for the plaintiff and award money damages or the jury will return a verdict finding that the defendant was not at fault.

to 2 Weeks

Motions and Appeals After the jury returns their verdict, the parties may file post trial motions and/or appeal the verdict to the appropriate appellate court in Iowa.

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