1. Chapter 3 Alternative, Judicial, and Online Dispute Resolution
PowerPoint Slides to accompany THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS AND ONLINE COMMERCE 5E, by Henry R. Cheeseman
Chapter 3
Alternative, Judicial, and Online Dispute Resolution
Prentice Hall © 2007

2. Pretrial Litigation Process
Pleadings
Discovery
Dismissals and pretrial judgments
Settlement conference
Prentice Hall © 2007

3. Pleadings
Complaint - the document the plaintiff files with the court and serves on the defendant to initiate a lawsuit
Summons - a court order directing the defendant to appear in court and answer
the complaint
Answer - the defendant’s written response to the plaintiff’s complaint that is filed with the court and served on the plaintiff
Prentice Hall © 2007

4. Intervention and Consolidation
The act of other parties to join as parties to an existing lawsuit
Consolidation
The act of a court to combine two or more separate lawsuits into one lawsuit
Prentice Hall © 2007

5. Statute of Limitations
Establishes the period during which a plaintiff must bring a lawsuit against a defendant
Prentice Hall © 2007

6. Discovery
Discovery—a legal process during which both parties engage in various activities to discover facts of the case from the other party and from witnesses prior to trial
Major forms of discovery
Depositions
Interrogatories
Production of documents
Physical and mental examinations
Prentice Hall © 2007

7. Pretrial Judgments Motion for judgment on the pleadings
Alleges that if all the facts presented in the pleadings are taken as true, the party making the motion would win the lawsuit when the proper law is applied to these asserted facts.
Motion for summary judgment
Motion that asserts that there are no factual disputes to be decided by the jury; if so, the judge can apply the proper law to the undisputed facts and decide the case without a jury.
Prentice Hall © 2007

8. Settlement Conference
Court may direct parties to appear for a settlement conference or pretrial hearing.
If there is no settlement, the pretrial hearing is used to identify major issues.
Prentice Hall © 2007

9. Phases of a Trial Jury selection Opening statement Plaintiff’s case
Defendant’s case
Rebuttal and rejoinder
Prentice Hall © 2007

10. Phases of a Trial Closing arguments Jury instructions
Jury deliberations
Verdict
Entry of judgment
Prentice Hall © 2007

11. The Appeal
In a civil case, either party can appeal the trial court’s decision once a final judgment
is entered.
In a criminal case, only the defendant
can appeal.
An appellate court will reverse a lower court decision if it finds an error of law in
the record.
It will generally not reverse a finding of fact.
Prentice Hall © 2007

12. Types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Arbitration
Mediation and conciliation
Minitrial
Fact finding
Judicial referee
Prentice Hall © 2007

13. Arbitration
Arbitration is a form of ADR in which parties choose an impartial third party to hear and decide the dispute.
Many contracts require that disputes arising out of the contract be submitted to arbitration.
Prentice Hall © 2007

14. Mediation and Conciliation
A form of ADR in which the parties choose a neutral third party to act as the mediator of
the dispute
Conciliation
A form of mediation in which the parties choose an interested third party to act as the mediator
Prentice Hall © 2007

15. Minitrial
A minitrial is a session, usually lasting a day or less, in which the lawyers for each side present their cases to representatives of each party who have authority to settle the dispute.
Prentice Hall © 2007

16. Fact-Finding
Fact-finding is a process in which the parties hire a neutral person to investigate the dispute.
The fact-finder reports his or her findings to the adversaries and may recommend a basis
for settlement.
Prentice Hall © 2007

17. Judicial Referee
If the parties agree, the court may appoint a judicial referee, often a retired judge, to conduct a private trial and render a judgment.
Prentice Hall © 2007