1.  Oh no. I ordered a cup of coffee and it was really hot!  I spilled it on myself and got a pretty serious burn on my hand.  Is there anything I can do to make sure that this doesn’t happen again?

2.  The government vs. a citizen.  The citizen is accused of breaking a law.  When a person loses a criminal case, he usually goes to jail.

3. W HAT ’ S C IVIL L AW ?  Civil law is when one citizen or business sues another citizen or business.  Civil law involves money instead of jail time.

4. W HO ’ S I NVOLVED ?  Plaintiff: is the person or business that is suing. (plaintiff = complaint)  Defendant: the person or business that is being sued. (defendant = defender)

5. W HAT ’ S THE P ROCESS ?  A lawsuit occurs when one group feels that they’ve been wronged by another group. This is totally your fault. I’m totally suing you.

6. W HAT ’ S THE P ROCESS ?  The lawsuit can be argued in front of a judge or a jury, at the request of the plaintiff. I know all of the technical bits of the law. We feel your pain. We’re sorry.

7. W HAT ’ S THE P ROCESS ?

8.  Both sides argue their evidence in court in front of a judge or jury Nah-uh! I was totally wearing them first! And then the defendant stole my idea to wear plaid shirts with forearm tattoos.

9. W HAT ’ S THE P ROCESS ?  The case is decided by who has the preponderance of evidence. This basically means who has the “majority” of evidence on their side.  This is a lower standard of proof than in Criminal Court

10. 1. O UT - OF -C OURT S ETTLEMENTS  The person being sued agrees to pay the plaintiff a certain amount of money in exchange for them dropping the lawsuit. H OW ’ S IT E ND ? There are two ways for a Civil lawsuit to end… 2. J UDGMENT OF L IABLE  If the case goes to court, the defendant could be found “liable” (responsible). This means they have to pay the plaintiff.

11. E XAMPLES OF C IVIL L AW C ASES  Example: Jade sues Rakeem for breaking a contract to roof her house.  Example: Kanye West sues the National Enquirer for writing false statements about him that damage his reputation.  Example  Example: Maurice sues Antonio for breaking his nose in a fight at the bowling alley.

12. T AKE A L OOK AT C IVIL L AW IN A CTION 1.Who is the plaintiff? What is she complaining about? 2.Who was the defendant and what is she claiming?

13. Judge Judy Clip

14. 2006, Question 54 Which of these is a violation of civil law? A. taking a souvenir shirt without paying for it B. driving through a red light on the highway C. breaking a legal contract D. refusing to report for jury duty