Civil Litigation in Texas, Exams of Civil Law

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Paralegal_01_FinalExam, Civil Litigation Review (Paralegal) fully solved & updated What quality must be possessed by a witness to qualify as an expert witness? - ANSWER-Specialized Knowledge The scope of discovery is __________________ the admissability of evidence. - ANSWER-Larger T/F Generally, conversations between the client and his or her spouse are privileged. - ANSWER-True Who determines the admissability of evidence during trial? - ANSWER-The judge May the paralegal interview a potential client? - ANSWER-Yes What are the 5 stages of Civil Litigation? - ANSWER-pre litigation- litigation- trial-appeal A personal injury case involving Texas citizens with $50,000 in damages could be filed in: - ANSWER-State District Court, or State County Court T/F Venue relates to the location of the trial court. - ANSWER-True What is the preferred method of declining a case? - ANSWER-In writing T/F The Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals have concurrent jurisdiction. - ANSWER-False If the defendant's answer date falls on a court holiday, the answer is due on: [Blank1] - ANSWER-Next business Day A petition may be served by which of 4 methods? - ANSWER-Personal Service Substituted Service Certified Mail Publication Which of the following is a plaintiff's initial pleading? - ANSWER-Complaint and Petition In a federal case, the answer is due: - ANSWER-20 days after the date of service The pleading filed by the defendant against a person who was not sued by the plaintiff is known as a: - ANSWER-Third Party petition If a state court plaintiff fails to identify the discovery level, which level is assigned to the case? [Blank1] - ANSWER-2 When may a defendant sign a waiver of service? - ANSWER-only after a petition has been filed What must be served with the Plaintiff's Original Petition? - ANSWER-Citation T/F With the attorney's permission, the paralegal may sign a pleading. - ANSWER-False T/F Pleadings cannot be amended. - ANSWER-False T/F Parties may agree to a level 3 discovery plan without court approval. - ANSWER- True Why would you object to a discovery request? 4 reasons - ANSWER-Privileged information Not relevant Repetitive Not availible Generally, are objections allowed in response to requests for disclosure? - ANSWER- No T/F Non-parties are required to respond to interrogatories. - ANSWER-False What is the difference between informal investigation during the pre-litigation phase and formal investigation during the litigation phase? - ANSWER-formal is actual discovery What's the difference between a fact witness and an expert witness? - ANSWER-Fact witness: has relevant info to the case Expert witness: qualified people that simplify complicated technical info What is evidence? - ANSWER-relevant or admissible information that parties use to prove allegations T/F: If evidence is relevant, it is automatically admissible in court. - ANSWER-False _______ concerns the court's power to hear a case, whereas _______concerns the choice of location for the case from among those courts having jurisdiction. (Jurisdiction/Venue) - ANSWER-Jurisdiction, Venue Do federal courts have general or limited jurisdiction? - ANSWER-Limited Body of the law that determines private rights and liabilities, as distinguished from criminal law. - ANSWER-Civil Law In Texas, the plaintiff's first pleading in state court is called a ________. while the plaintiff's first pleading in federal court is _____________ - ANSWER- Where can a paralegal locate sample forms to use as drafting guides? - ANSWER-Form book Can the petition or complaint allege more than one legal theory of recovery? - ANSWER-of course! What is the purpose of a summons and a citation? - ANSWER-A summons is a form that explains to the defendant that he has been sued. citation orders a person to appear at a certain time and place. Where is the petition filed? - ANSWER- Where is the complaint filed? - ANSWER- The petition or complaint may be served personally on the defendant by who? - ANSWER- - ANSWER- T/F: The plaintiff may serve interrogatories on a witness, other than the defendant, who saw the accident occur. - ANSWER- T/F: The deadline for serving interrogatories is 30 days before the end of the discovery period. - ANSWER-False: You may respond 30 days T/F: A party's response to interrogatories may include objections and assertions of privilege. - ANSWER-True T/F: A party must sign the answers to interrogatories under oath. - ANSWER-True T/F: All answers to interrogatories are filed with the court - ANSWER-False T/F: The attorney (or the party, when pro se) must sign the answers to interrogatories. - ANSWER-True T/F: Objections to interrogatories are filed with the court. - ANSWER-False T/F: A party must respond to discovery (interrogatories are a form of discovery) completely and in writing. - ANSWER-True T/F: A party should serve supplemental or amended answers to interrogatories promptly after the party discovers the need for such a response, but no later than 60 days before trial. - ANSWER- T/F: A request for production may be oral. - ANSWER-False? T/F: Documents produced during discovery must be filed with the court. - ANSWER- T/F: The rules allow the party producing documents to shuffle the documents into an illogical order before turning them over to the party making the request. - ANSWER- False T/F: Rule 198 limits the number of requests for admissions that one party may send to another party. - ANSWER- T/F: If a response is not timely served, the request is considered admitted without the necessity of a court order. - ANSWER- T/F: A request for admissions may be served on a non-party to the lawsuit - ANSWER- T/F Lack of information or knowledge may be a proper response in certain circumstances. - ANSWER- T/F Requests for admissions are filed with the court. - ANSWER- What are the four phases of litigation? - ANSWER-Pre litigation Litigation discovery Trial appeal What types of things occur during the pre-litigation phase? - ANSWER-Discovery, depositions, etc. What begins the litigation phase? - ANSWER-the plaintiff writes a written document in court What is the main difference between investigation during the litigation phase and investigation during the pre-litigation phase? - ANSWER-Litigation phase is a formal investigation What are the various types of written discovery? - ANSWER-contracts, affidavits, forms how much notice must be given for a non-stenographic (video) deposition? - ANSWER- 5 days prior Most aspects of civil litigation occur in the courtroom. - ANSWER-False The rules governing litigation in the Texas state courts include which of the following? - ANSWER--Texas Rules of Civil Procedure -Texas Rules of Evidence -Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure -Local Rules Which of the following could not be resolved through civil litigation? - ANSWER- Commission of a murder Which of the following is not an alternative to civil litigation? - ANSWER-Discovery Which of the following could not be done by a paralegal? - ANSWER-Asking questions at a deposition An appellate court is where a case begins and is tried. - ANSWER-False Federal courts are known as courts of _____________ jurisdiction. - ANSWER-Limited A common reason to propound discovery post-trial is to: - ANSWER-Determine the assets owned by the judgment debtor. Statutes that allow states to exercise jurisdiction over non-residents defendants are known as: - ANSWER-Long-arm statutes Each element of a cause of action must be proven at trial for the plaintiff to prevail. - ANSWER-True Duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages are the legal elements of the cause of action known as: - ANSWER-Negligence Venue concerns - ANSWER-The location of the trial The client may need to send a claim letter to the defendant before filing suit. - ANSWER-True When drafting the Plaintiff's Original Petition to be filed with the court, the paralegal should fill in the cause number at the top of the page. - ANSWER-False In Texas, "service of process" on the defendant refers to which two documents? - ANSWER-Petition and citation To assist a plaintiff's personal injury attorney with the first interview of a new client, the litigation paralegal may wish to gather which of the following ? - ANSWER--Medical authorization for client signature -Fee agreement for client signature -Checklist of possible interview questions from an in-house form file or form book The "hearsay rule" states that hearsay statements are generally __________as evidence at trial - ANSWER-Inadmissible All relevant evidence is admissible at trial. - ANSWER-False Hatfield sues McCoy for negligence. Under Rule 103, Hatfield may serve McCoy with citation. - ANSWER-False A "Rule 11" agreement should be filed with the court to be enforceable. - ANSWER- True The scope of information properly obtainable through discovery is _________ than the scope of information admissible at trial. - ANSWER-Broader Rule 190 allows for how many levels of discovery plans? - ANSWER-three Another name for punitive damage is: - ANSWER-Exemplary damages Under Rule 239, the defendant's failure to timely respond to the Plaintiff's Original Petition and citation may result in: - ANSWER-Default judgment against the defendant Under Rule 4, when counting response times under the rules, the date of service should be: - ANSWER-Excluded Under Rule 21a, service of the lawsuit papers other than the citation may be made by: - ANSWER-Mail Fax In-person delivery Under Rule 21a, when do we add three days when calculating a response time? - ANSWER-When served by mail Assume that plaintiff Hatfield faxes a "Request for Disclosure" to Defendant McCoy at 6:00pm on Friday. - ANSWER-Monday The number of interrogatories allowed in a lawsuit is/ is not specifically limited by the rules. - ANSWER-Is The number of request for admissions in a lawsuit is/ is not specifically limited by the rules. - ANSWER-Is not The number of request for production of documents in a lawsuit is/ is not specifically limited by the rules. - ANSWER-Is not A command in the form of written process requiring a witness to come to court testify is known as a(n): - ANSWER-Subpoena Hatfield sues three individuals defendants: McCoy, Madison, and Moore. In this lawsuit, a claim by Madison against Hatfield would be a : - ANSWER-Counter-claim Hatfield sues three individuals defendants: McCoy, Madison, and Moore. A claim by Madison against Moore would be a: - ANSWER-Cross-Claim To depose a party to the lawsuit, which of the following is required? - ANSWER-Notice to Intent Under Rule 176, a person may be required to travel up to 300 miles from his or her residence in response to a subpoena. - ANSWER-False (150 miles) Under Rule 176, a paralegal who is over 18 years of age and not a party to the lawsuit may serve a subpoena - ANSWER-true