To sue or not to sue: deciding whether to pursue a court case
The last option to close a dispute is litigation. In this article, I would like to list two preliminary questions litigants should ask themselves before deciding whether to pursue a court case.
Question 1: What is your end goal?
Before diving straight into litigation, litigants should take a moment and evaluate their end goal. More often than not, the judgment delivered by civil courts may not be ideal. Therefore, litigants considering a claim should assess these two questions:
• What do you want to achieve from this whole process?
• What can you realistically get – this is something that can be awarded by the court.
The answers to these two questions may not align. What you want and what you can get may be vastly different things. Take an example, if your main consideration comes from a purely financial aspect, consider the table below:
Options for Employer
From a purely financial aspect, it may be more beneficial to consider a settlement of £8500. Purely from a dollar and cents perspective, settling would lead to a better financial result than bringing a successful court case.
Question 2: Are you prepared to tell the whole world the truth?
Before taking the stand in court, the witness is to take an oath to tell “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. A litigant will invariably have to testify in support of his/her claim. This means being prepared to reveal the entire truth not just to their lawyers, but also to the court and at times, the jury.
Very often, some disputes may involve sensitive facts, which litigants may not want to reveal in public. Whilst there are resources to request confidentiality, court judgements are public records and can be easily accessed via the Internet. This judgement, when published, will contain every single detail of the dispute, the evidence and the testimony of witness.
This transparency can be a blessing and a burden. Litigants may find their dirty laundry aired in public when the court delivers the judgment. Now, are you prepared for this? For your family, friends, colleagues and even your neighbour to your secret. If you are not prepared to have the whole truth in the open, litigation may not be the best approach.
