Good afternoon hawaii55-ga!
First, let me clarify that I am not an attorney; therefore, I cannot
give you legal advice. If you are seeking legal advice, you need to
consult with the attorney you already have or seek counsel with a new
attorney. I am, however, a paralegal and have a better understanding
of the legal system than most, so I will do my best to break this down
for you.
There are basically five steps in a lawsuit:
1. Complaint to the company;
2. Filing of a legal Complaint/Petition;
3. Discovery phase;
4. Motion for summary judgment;
5. Trial by jury.
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First of all, a "statute of limitations" is simply a law which places
a time limit on pursuing a legal remedy in relation to wrongful
conduct.
Source: Hawaii Statute of Limitations - An Overview
(http://www.expertlaw.com/library/pubarticles/Personal_Injury/limitations_by_state/Hawaii.html)
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For Hawaii, the statute of limitations for personal injury is 2 years.
Basically, you have two years from the date of your accident in which
to bring a lawsuit against the other party. If you have filed a
Complaint in the District Court within two years of the date of
incident, you have met the statute of limitations.
A motion for summary judgment is a request to the court to throw your
case out of the legal system for lack of substance. Basically a judge
is requested to review the facts and law, in summary, and make a
decision whether or not there is enough legal substance to your case
to proceed to a trial by jury. This is usually filed by the Defendant
after discovery has taken place.
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"* is a judgment granted on a claim about which there are no real
genuine issues of material fact* It allows for speedy disposition of
a controversy without the need for trail*"
Source: Black's Law Dictionary, Second Pocket Edition.
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In each jurisdiction there will be certain "standards" that govern
whether or not summary judgment is granted.
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A standard is a criterion for measuring acceptability, quality, or accuracy.
Source: Black's Law Dictionary, Second Pocket Edition
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DENIAL OF MOTION: If the Defendant files a Motion for Summary
Judgment and the judge DENIES it (in other words, the judge says
"there is enough evidence to warrant a trial so your motion to drop
the case is denied") then the case will not be dismissed and you will
proceed to trial.
If the judge ruled against the Defendant, the Defendant may file an
appeal within a specified timeframe, which is usually 30 days. Not
all Orders for Summary Judgment can be appealed though. If appealed,
an appeals court will then review the facts and law, using the same
facts and law presented to the trial judge, and decide whether or not
the trial judge erred.
GRANTING OF MOTION: In the reverse, if the judge GRANTS the
Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, the judge will state in the
Order that the case is dismissed. If the case has not been dismissed,
the next step would be to proceed to trial.
"My attorney advised me to write the defendants a letter requesting a
settlement out of court."
I find this statement very strange because your attorney should be
negotiating the settlement, not you. You hired a lawyer to represent
you, therefore any communication about settlement should be done
between the attorneys.
Bottom line, read your Order. My guess is since the Defendant's
Motion for Summary Judgment was denied, you still have a case. You
should therefore talk to your attorney about either settlement
negotiations or proceeding forward to trial.
I hope this information is useful and should this answer require a
further explanation, please request clarification before rating it,
and I will be happy to look into this further. Best of luck to you!
Nenna-GA Google
Answers Researcher
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