Moriarty & Dee, Attorneys at Law, in Buffalo, New York.

This is How a Case Proceeds:

In the event litigation is commenced, there are certain formal stages which will occur. In New York State a matrimonial action is commenced by either party by the service of a Summons in an Action for Divorce and/or Separation. The summons may be accompanied by moving papers seeking temporary relief and/or the "Complaint", which is a formal written document itemizing the grounds for divorce.

New York State is a "grounds" state and it may be necessary for you to supply a detailed marital history, with emphasis on the problems occurring in the last five years of the marriage to assist us in drafting the Complaint. As a general rule, our need for a full marital history will depend upon whether your spouse is contesting either your right to a divorce, the length of the marriage, and the presence of children. If your spouse is not going to contest the grounds, or if your marriage is a marriage of short duration without children, the grounds for a divorce are not meaningful in the ordinary case.

After the service of the Complaint by the Plaintiff, the Defendant is entitled to serve a "Counterclaim", which is the Defendant’s equivalent of a Complaint. The same rules that govern the Complaint govern the Counterclaim.

Both sides are entitled to "discovery" or "disclosure". Discovery refers to the right and responsibility of both parties to obtain and provide information, primarily financial, to the other side. There are several types of discovery proceedings which might take place, but the most common is the deposition, also referred to as an examination before trial ("EBT"). This proceeding involves the taking of sworn testimony of you, your spouse or both of you, at one of the attorney’s offices. Usually, both clients, both attorneys and a court reporter are present.

The deposition is an important part of your case. In connection with your testimony, you may be required to bring financial documents with you, some of which you may have already provided to us. In the event we are requested to provide your testimony at a deposition, we will write to you in advance of the date scheduled, and provide to you a copy of the schedule of documents requested by your spouse’s attorney. Please review the notice carefully and bring two copies of every document requested with you on the date of the EBT.

In order to prepare for the deposition, we will normally schedule you to meet with us before the deposition begins at which time we will review the subject matter of your testimony and discuss simple rules to be observed. To assist us in preparing you, we have available for your viewing a video tape of a simulated deposition which you may watch at our office at anytime. Please allow approximately one half hour for viewing the tape.

In most cases, an deposition can be completed at the first session. In many cases, however, either because of the complexity of issues or the need to produce documents, several sessions are required.

Lastly, depositions are necessarily adjourned from time to time, either because of engagement of counsel at trial, other proceedings which the courts mandate take priority, or for other good reason. It is always a good idea to check with our office on the afternoon before a morning deposition, or in the morning of a day when the deposition is scheduled for the afternoon, in order to make certain the examination is continuing as scheduled.

After all discovery has been completed, the case will be certified for trial and a pretrial conference will be scheduled. The pretrial is a mandatory procedure which serves to bring attorneys and clients together, in the presence of the court, for the purpose of settlement. There are often several pretrials, and the pretrial process results in settlement more than 95% of the time. Only if settlement can not be reached is a case scheduled for a trial.

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