In a civil case, one party (the plaintiff) makes a complaint against another (the defendant) alleging a violation of law or of a legal standard of care.

The defendant must be served with a formal statement of the “complaint” along with an order, or subpoena, to appear in court. The defendant files an "answer" to the complaint; he or she can also "counterclaim" against the plaintiff.

Depending on the circumstances, the government — federal, state, or local — may be either the plaintiff or the defendant in a civil case.

Before trial, each side has an opportunity to explore all the evidence in the possession of the other side through a process called "discovery." Frequently, lawyers conduct depositions in which they question witnesses and parties to the suit under oath.

In most civil cases, the judge will hold a pretrial conference with the attorneys from both sides to explore the possibility of settling the case without a formal trial.

The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that parties in most civil suits are entitled to a jury trial; however, both parties can agree to waive that right and have the case heard solely before a judge. Certain types of civil cases are almost always presented before judges without juries: family matters, such as divorce and child custody, for example, and matters dealing with probate (legal provisions of a will). This is called a “bench trial.” Courts are often called upon by parties to issue injunctions that will prevent or halt imminent harm or damages. Such requests, such as an injunction to halt pollution by a factory, also would be heard by a judge without a jury.

The burden of proof in a civil case is lower than in a criminal trial. Instead of "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" — the criminal standard — jurors or judges render a verdict on the basis of the "preponderance of the evidence."

Still, the burden of proof rests with the plaintiff. Although most civil defendants present evidence, a defendant has the option of simply arguing that the plaintiff did not meet the required burden of proof.

As in criminal cases, the loser in a civil suit has the option of appealing the decision to a higher court, which will determine only if errors of law occurred but which will not reexamine the facts of the case.

Class action suits are a special type of civil lawsuit in which one or more parties bring a claim on behalf of a much larger group of people in the same situation or allegedly suffering from the same problem. Examples of class actions are those brought against the manufacturers of allegedly defective or hazardous products, such as asbestos, certain vaccines, or tobacco.

Stockholders may complain as a class that a company engaged in deceptive or illegal practices that damaged the value of their holdings.

Verdicts in civil cases often involve monetary damages, which can be either compensatory or punitive. Compensatory damages reimburse the plaintiff for actual losses from, for instance, an automobile accident or other circumstances found to be the responsibility of the defendant.

Punitive damages, which are allowed in only certain types of cases, are monetary awards designed to punish the defendant for unlawful behavior that is considered to be particularly egregious, and to deter such actions or behavior in the future.

Courts in civil cases can be asked by the defendant to set aside or change the verdict on the grounds that it contradicts or is inconsistent with the law and evidence. Judges will rarely agree, but they do have the power to set aside a verdict on the grounds that it is unreasonable given the circumstances or evidence of the case.

To avoid the cost and time involved with court cases, many people with civil cases turn to options outside the formal legal procedures, and costs, of lawyers and courtrooms. These methods are commonly referred to as alternative dispute resolution.

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