QUESTION
what goes first a criminal case or civil case
Asked on Jun 15th, 2015 on Civil Litigation - Massachusetts
More details to this question:
my mom was killed as a pedestrian while walking across the street- the women is being taking to court by the district atty office next week- do i have to wait til this crim,inal matter is over before i file a civil lawsuit
1 ANSWER
You don't have to wait. However, civil courts will often stay all or parts of civil cases while criminal proceedings are ongoing in order no to prejudice the defendant's rights in the criminal proceeding. Also, you may want to wait (assuming the statute of limitations is not a problem) because a finding of guilty or guilty plea in the criminal case can be used against the defendant in the civil case.
Answered on Jun 15th, 2015 at 10:30 AM