The Complaint and Summons.  Most civil lawsuits begin with the filing of a Complaint with the court. A Complaint is a document that describes what the person filing it (the Plaintiff) wants and why that person believes he/she is entitled to that relief. 

At the time the Complaint is filed, a Summons will be issued by the court clerk.  The Summons notifies the Defendant that he or she is being sued and must contain the name of the court the names of the parties, state the name and address of the plaintiff’s attorney, if any, otherwise the plaintiff’s address, and the time within which the defendant must appear and defend, if any, and shall notify the defendant that failure to do so will result in a judgment by default against the defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint.

Service of the Complaint and Summons. After the Plaintiff has filed his Complaint and had the court clerk issue a Summons, he must serve a copy of these documents on each person he is suing (the Defendants).  See How to Serve a Civil Complaint for information regarding who can serve the Summons and Complaint and how they must do so.

Responsive Pleadings.  After the Defendant is served with the Summons and Complaint, they typically have 20 days in which to file a response.  If the Defendant does not file a response within the required time period, the Plaintiff can request the court to award a default judgment.  This process is described at How to File a Motion for Summary Judgment.

This response can take several forms:

An Answer in which the party either admits or denies the allegations.  This Answer may be accompanied by or may include a:

• Counterclaim (which is a lawsuit by the Defendant against the Plaintiff),     
• Cross-Claim, which is a lawsuit by the Defendant against another Defendant in the same action, or
• Third party Complaint which is a lawsuit by the Defendant against some third party, typically because the Defendant believes the third party to be responsible for the damages that Plaintiff claims to have suffered.

A Motion in which the party requests the Court to do something.  Such motions include, but are not limited to, a:

• Motion to Dismiss which is a request to end the lawsuit.  This kind of motion may be based on, among other reasons, arguments that the statute of limitations has expired, the court lacks jurisdiction (link to glossary), that even if the allegations are correct, no legal relief is warranted, etc . . .
• Motion for Change of Venue which usually contests the place in which the suit was filed on the grounds that the trial rules require the action be filed in a different county or court;
• Peremptory Challenge of a Judge which requests that a suit be assigned to a different judge.  In District Court, the party may file this without giving a reason provided that he pays the necessary $300 filing fees.  There is no specific rule allowing this in Justice Court.
• Motion for a More Definite Statement which requests that the Plaintiff be required to rephrase their Complaint based on the argument that a portion of it is so vague or ambiguous that the Defendant cannot reasonably be expected to file a response.
• Motion to Strike which requests that the court order stricken from any pleading any “redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.