What Filing a Civil Rights Lawsuit Looks Like
Your rights were violated, and now you’re considering filing a lawsuit. Before you jump in, here’s an idea what you can expect the process to look like. Although every case is different, there are a few basic things you’re likely to experience as a plaintiff in a civil rights lawsuit.
Expect to wait.
Litigation takes time—a lot of time. Finding an attorney you trust is just the first step. That attorney will need time to learn all the facts and research the law before he or she can file a lawsuit. Sometimes, as in employment cases, you have to file a complaint with an agency like the EEOC or New York City Human Rights Commission before you can file a formal lawsuit. Your attorney will give you a good sense of when the lawsuit can actually be filed.
But filing a complaint—the document that launches the lawsuit—is only the first step. After that, the people you are suing (the defendants) have a few weeks to respond. They may opt to respond to your allegations in an "answer," in which they admit or deny the allegations in your complaint, or they may make a motion immediately to dismiss the entire lawsuit. If they submit an answer, then the case proceeds to discovery (see below). If they make a motion to dismiss the case, then your attorney will take a few weeks to respond to that motion, and then the court will have to decide whether to dismiss the case. That can take months or longer, depending on the judge.
After the case is initiated and any motions to dismiss are decided, the case moves to discovery, the information-gathering stage of a case where parties learn facts to support their positions. Each side gets to review documents produced by the other side and question witnesses in proceedings called "depositions." This stage typically takes four to nine months, depending on how complex the case is. The plaintiff’s job during this time is to help collect documents (more on that below) and prepare for his/her deposition. There’s a lot of waiting involved too.
After discovery is over, there could be another round of motions where the defendants try to dismiss the case, all before going to a trial.
Most litigation ends in settlement. But even so, civil rights plaintiffs can generally expect their case to take at least a year, and longer if the case does not settle.
Your privacy will be invaded.
That sounds harsh, but it’s true. When you file a civil rights lawsuit, you should be prepared to turn over every document that relates in any way to your claim or the damages you suffered. That usually means emails and texts with friends and colleagues, voicemails, social media posts, even diary entries. In many cases, you will have to disclose medical or mental health records, employment records, and even bank statements or tax returns. Of course, the defendants will have to turn over similar documents to your lawyer.
Your attorney will need your input and support.
A plaintiff hires an attorney to benefit from that person’s experience and expertise. But no civil rights lawsuit will be successful without the active input from the client, working together with his or her attorney. That means answering your attorney’s phone calls and emails, helping track down all your relevant records, helping your attorney learn all the facts of what happened, and helping prepare for depositions. It also means listening to the advice your attorney provides—after all, that’s why you hired a lawyer in the first place!
No matter the outcome, it will be both frustrating and rewarding.
No one, including your attorney, can guarantee what will happen with your lawsuit. Litigation can involve a lot of frustrations, some of which we’ve described here. But it can also be incredibly rewarding. Through discovery, you will get to learn a lot more about what happened to you and why. That in itself can be enormously valuable. If your litigation is successful, you can win compensation for the harm you suffered, and sometimes you can help enact new policies or procedures that help stop whatever happened to you from happening to other people.
Regardless of the outcome, simply by standing up for yourself and seeking justice, you are doing something worthwhile of which you can be proud.
Disclaimer: This post is meant to inform the reader about the state of the law. Nothing in this post is intended to nor does create an attorney-client privilege, convey legal advice, or guarantee any outcome in a legal matter.