FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Lawsuits are initiated in Washington State by the filing and service of a complaint and a summons to each defendant in the case. The filing process is different in each county; some counties require paper filings and some offer electronic filing. Some courts provide additional documents that must be served on each defendant at the time of filing, such as a case schedule and/or a cover sheet. No matter where the case is filed however, each defendant must be served with the filing documents personally. The easiest way to facilitate this is to use a professional process server. They complaint must outline the plaintiff’s case, setting forth the facts that satisfy the elements entitling the plaintiff to the relief sought. A single case may raise the possibility of proving multiple causes of action. The facts supporting each cause of action must be set forth in the complaint. It is generally inadvisable for a lay person to file a complaint on his or her own without first having the documents reviewed by a lawyer qualified in that practice area, at the very minimum.