Possible Date Changes in Your Civil Lawsuit
When you hire a lawyer and file a civil lawsuit, you will generally be given various deadlines that are initially set through the court before which your case is pending in what is called a “scheduling order.” Scheduling orders vary in content from court to court, but will all generally contain a date for the trial of your case, a date for a pre-trial conference in your case, and a date when the discovery in your case must be completed. Your lawyer should inform you of relevant dates set by the scheduling order in your case as soon as possible, so that you can mark your calendar and plan to be available for events that you must attend, such as the trial.
During your case, there may be other dates that you will need to be available, too, such as for a deposition, for an independent medical examination, or for mediation. Your lawyer’s office should communicate with you to set those dates and should also remind you periodically of upcoming dates in your case that you must be aware of.
However, sometimes dates in your case will change. There can be several reasons that this could happen, but sometimes it may seem confusing or frustrating to you when deadlines are pushed back, or case events are cancelled on seemingly short notice.
The following are some of the typical reasons that the dates in your civil lawsuit can change.
-The court may enter a new scheduling order that changes the previous trial date, pre-trial date, and other deadlines.
-There may be a stay entered in your case.
-Human events simply happen.
These are some of the typical reasons that the deadlines or dates in your civil lawsuit may change, but there can be others as well. Any time that you have a question about what is going on in your case, or why something has happened or changed, you should contact your attorney and ask. It is your case, and your lawyer is there to help you feel as comfortable as you can with what is happening and be able to plan for all of the important dates.
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