Not Understanding What Statute of Limitations Means
The statute of limitations is a law that defines the length of time you have to file a specific lawsuit against someone. As you can see from the title of this post, the most common mistake consumers make when filing for a consumer lawsuit is not understanding what the statute of limitations means.
You’ll likely need to find information from statutes, court cases, or ask a consumer lawyer. Based on where your injury took place, you may need to contact state agencies as well. All this means you’ll probably want to speak with a consumer lawyer from Best Personal Injury Lawyer Waco Texas before making the decision to file a lawsuit. This can help determine whether there’s enough information to pursue a case in the first place.
Thinking You Don’t Need a Lawyer
You probably know that if you have a legal problem, the best thing you can do is hire a consumer lawyer. The trouble is, most people don’t realize how much of a difference having professional representation can make in almost all legal matters, particularly in a case involving a consumer issue like foreclosure or debt collection. These matters and other consumer issues are delicate and highly technical, so most people understandably feel they don’t need a consumer lawyer to work with and advise them. When it comes to filing for a lawsuit as an individual, this kind of thinking is dangerous. There are numerous pitfalls that lay in wait for the unsuspecting do-it-yourselfer who tries to file their own lawsuit without professional help.
Not Having the Right Evidence
When you’re thinking about taking legal action, it’s important to have a comprehensive list of the evidence that connects your consumer rights violation to the wrongdoer. If you’re doing it right, you should not just have the name of the company or business that caused your injury – you should also have their physical address and contact info. Along with this, you require proof that they act as a business and meet the legal standard of being whatever kind of business they are. For example, if you’re filing against a retail chain and want to file under a federal cause of action such as “unjust enrichment” then you need to be able to show that there is interstate commerce taking place such as having stores all across the country.
The law prevents you from filing a lawsuit if you have already filed a similar complaint or lawsuit.
The law prevents you from filing a lawsuit if you have already filed a similar complaint or lawsuit. A federal law called the Filing of Multiple Civil Actions provision makes this illegal.
This means that prior to filing a lawsuit, you must determine whether the potential case is substantially similar to any lawsuit that you or someone else has filed. If it is, you may not file a new lawsuit.
While this increase in “overflow” lawsuits may seem like a bad thing, the law is actually doing its intended purpose by limiting and processing lawsuits that are frivolous and done simply to profit off of businesses.
It’s helpful to know what mistakes people commonly make when filing for a consumer lawsuit so that you don’t make them yourself.