Civil Litigation in New York
Files
Description
The wide acceptance of the second edition has been a source of satisfaction to each of us. We are pleased to have played a role in introducing many law students to the intricacies of civil litigation rules in New York State. We continue to believe that New York’s litigation system is worthy of careful study, even by students who have already completed a basic civil procedure course. They will find much in this volume that goes beyond the basic principles to which the first-year course has exposed them, as well as an introduction to the many points at which New York departs from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A third edition is necessary because of the many changes in practice that have occurred during the six years that have passed since the completion of the second edition. We have done our utmost to insure a reliable incorporation of them into the current volume. We invite all users of this volume—students as well as professors—to alert us to any errors or suggestions for improvement. . . . Civil litigation in New York is complex and demanding. It calls on such advocacy skills as oral argument, brief writing and cross-examination, but even more does it demand familiarity with the “law” of litigation. The purpose of this book is to help you learn that law in the context in which an advocate must apply it. We hope that you will not only become familiar with the rules of New York practice but that you will develop a sense of how they can be creatively applied. To that end we have included in each chapter litigation problems which are designed to help you put the law into a practical perspective. The problems are based on realistic situations (sometimes on actual cases) and therefore raise the sorts of difficult issues which can arise in the course of any action. Usually, you will find that we have presented the problem prior to the material which bears on it. This will hopefully make the material less abstract and more involving. Many of the problems do not have a single answer which is correct in an absolute sense. As with most legal issues there are various possible solutions, each with its own supporting arguments. Please approach them in that spirit. In keeping with its purposes, the book is organized roughly along the path litigation normally takes, starting with the rules governing the choice of forum. Since there is no route which all lawsuits must follow, and since there are some rules of litigation (e.g., those governing motion practice) which are relevant to several stages of a lawsuit, you should not take the linear organization we have adopted as exemplifying all lawsuits or as an approach you would always follow in practice. Use it, rather, to gain and keep a general sense of litigation as a process with a beginning, middle and clearly defined goal. The variety of paths litigation can take brings us to another point about the study of it. The flexibility of modern civil procedure, including that of New York, allows and therefore requires the lawyer to make frequent tactical choices. Should one make a particular motion? Obtain a provisional remedy? Seek discovery? If so, what kind? How should the pleading be drafted? It is our view that an effective advocate knows what the ethical choices are in every situation and dose his or her best to pick the alternative which will maximize the client’s chances of success. Thus, as you read the cases and problems which follow, we urge you to think about and evaluate the choices that the litigants made. The management of litigation system in pursuit of success is not the only challenge to the student or attorney. Equally fulfilling, if not more so, is participation in the ongoing effort to reform and improve the system. This book goes to press during a period of widespread criticism of civil litigation as a method of resolve disputes. How the system can and should be changed in response to its critics is therefore a particularly timely issue now; there is no doubt that the search for improvement will continue during the professional lifetime of today’s student. Thus, these materials frequently encourage you to step back from the process and ask “How can we make this better?”
Publication Date
1996
Edition
3
Recommended Citation
Chase, Oscar G. and Barker, Robert A., "Civil Litigation in New York" (1996). Faculty Books & Edited Works. 89.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-books-edited-works/89
