When you decide to sue, before you make that first move, you need to think through where you are going to file the lawsuit. Selecting a forum may have a major impact on both the costs and the results of the litigation. In many litigations there is more than one forum in which the lawsuit can be started.
In New York State, it can be brought in the county where the plaintiff lives, the county the plaintiff’s business is in, the county where the performance of the contract was to take place or the county in which the event giving rise to the suit occurred. Continue reading “Deciding Where to Initiate a Lawsuit”
In deciding whether or not to sue there are three important considerations, and without all three a lawsuit generally cannot succeed: (1) there must be a liability (or a basis for getting relief); (2) there must be damages (and under New York law damages are sometimes not easy to prove and may require expert testimony unless it is plain and easy to calculate); and (3) there must be a “pocket” or source of funds from the parties who are liable for the damages, to pay a judgment.
