What happens
at the end of a lawsuit?
If there is a jury trial, the jury returns a verdict and the plaintiff either wins some or all of the claims she made, or the defendant wins and the plaintiff recovers nothing. Usually, a plaintiff has the opportunity to win on separate claims and be awarded money damages for each one. If the defendant wins completely, the case is over unless there is an appeal. If the plaintiff wins, typically the defendant must pay whatever the jury found that the plaintiff should receive. The party that wins can ask the court of an award of costs. These costs typically include money spent on expert witnesses, or deposition costs, or other items as allowed by law. Sometimes the court will grant the party’s request, but this is typically difficult to get if you are the defendant.
