Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin

While small claims court is a bit friendlier than large claims civil litigation, the rules of civil procedure including the discovery rules still apply, and any lawyer who is hired to defend a case is able to use them. A party to any lawsuit may request any information which is relevant to the lawsuit and under the control of an adverse party, provided that it might assist in the defense or prosecution of the lawsuit or lead to other material which could assist. If one can prove to the judge that discovery requests are unduly burdensome, irrelevant to the lawsuit, or brought solely for purposes of harassment, it may be possible to obtain relief from the judge if you properly present the a request. Properly making any request to a judge about a pending lawsuit requires notice of the request and an opportunity for Discovery laws apply equally in small claims court. A party to any lawsuit may request any information which is relevant to the lawsuit and under the control of another party, provided that it may assist in defense or prosecution of the lawsuit or lead to other material which could assist. If one can prove to the judge that discovery requests are unduly burdensome, irrelevant to the lawsuit, or brought solely for purposes of harassment, it may be possible to obtain relief from the judge if you properly make such a request. Properly making any request to a judge about a pending lawsuit requires notice of the request and a hearing, together with proper service of the request on the adverse party in a timely fashion, well enough in advance of the hearing to permit the other party to prepare a response. In all litigation, counterclaims are also a fact of life. In fact, an opposing party is even required by WI law to bring his counterclaim in the same lawsuit in a timely fashion or risk an argument that the counterclaim was waived. Just like discovery requests, any time that you sue someone, you should therefore expect a counterclaim if that person has any argument that you are liable to him or that anything which he owes you is subject to a reduction or setoff. If you cannot handle this in your pro se litigation and cannot get a lawyer, you always have the right to request that your case be dismissed. Again, however, this request would need to be subject to notice and a hearing and the adverse party might object to it. Another alternative is to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the adverse lawyer or request alternative dispute resolution efforts by a neutral mediator, if the other party agrees to mediation. Attorney responses on this public website are intended only for public educational purposes rather than as legal advice for your specific situation. Responses to your questions therefore do not create an attorney client relationship between us and should not be relied upon for making any important decisions until they have been reconsidered by your private attorney. You are; however, welcome to contact my office in Racine to discuss any additional questions which you may have or to seek private advice intended for you alone. Answers on this website may also contain attorney advertising materials.