Badlands 2.0 Civil Court

[Sam]

(I understand there are many posts regarding this and there might be some cross-over, also want to apologize in advance for any confusion or typos in my writing) 

 

There should be a way for courts to take up Civil cases in Badlands 2.0, this could include Contract Breach, Medical Malpractice, Defamation, Compensation for injury, Company vs company, etc.

A civil case refers to non-criminal law and typically results in a monetary compensation to the plaintiff if the case is won.

 

All matters of the case will take place through the forums except the actual trial. To initiate a lawsuit the plaintiff will have to start by submitting a complaint through the forums. The purpose of the complaint

Is for the plaintiff to explain the situation / tell the story. 

 

The complaint will have a general format (An example Complaint will be included) 

- At the top it will state the parties who are involved in the lawsuit. You can sue any person/entity.

- The next part of the complaint will include the facts of the case, in this section you will explain the story of what happened

-In the next section the issues should be outlined, the issues explain why/how the effects of the case personally effected you or justify a monetary compensation

-Finally the compensation section you law out how much money you're suing for. 

 

After a complain is submitted by the plaintiff the defendant will have a chance to 

1. Motion to dismiss the case. (Done through forums)

- The motion to dismiss doesn't  mean that the facts of the case are incorrect. It's an attempt by the defendant to dismiss the case because it's legally invalid (For example if someone is suied because the plaintiff doesn't like the color of their t-shirt that's obviously legally invalid). When the courts rule a motion to dismiss they assume that the facts of the case are correct and test the legal integrity of the case.

- If the motion to dismiss the case is passed than the lawsuit is effectively ended.

2. Answer the complaint (Done through forums)

-At this point the Defendant has the opportunity to answer the complaint. The purpose of the answer is to figure out which of the facts/claims are in dispute and which ones the defendant admits to.

 

After this is done we move to the discovery phase of the civil suit.

-Both the defendant and the plaintiff will submit all evidence they have through the forums. This evidence can be used in-game without it being considered meta-gaming and is completely valid. 

 

Finally after all the evidence is submitted we move to trial.

-The court will find a time that works for both plaintiff and defendant to see and judge the case. (Note: If one of the party isn't present at the time of the case they will automatically lose the case)

-The Trial Include The Following: 

Opening Statements

Examination (Plaintiff first and then defense second. This is the time to bring out witnesses/analyse evidence, also time for Debate/Argument )

Closing Argument (Last words spoken to the jury or judge, with the purpose of convincing them that their client is not guilty)

Verdict The Judge decides weather the plaintiff wins or loses

 

(The Trial is meant to be relatively free flowing in order to encourage RP. I don't feel like there should be micro-management when it comes to exactly how the case will be heard. There is definitely wiggle room)

 

The Following: Example Complaint submitted by a plaintiff

(Sorry for any Typo's)

The Following: (Sorry it's poorly created) A general flowchart on how a case will be brought up and very very basic over view on how a civil court can operate.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Isaiah Rashad
Fixing Typo/Added information

[luna]

paper trails for disputes within the city would be a great addition to RP, and the medical malpractice one in particular has me excited! lol

 

would look forward to seeing something like this! i love the amount of effort you’ve put into this suggestion btw

[Tom]

+1