by Dan Maland | December 2018
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Generally, any discussion of lifespan and timeframes for civil litigation in the United States requires emphasis of the idiom “patience is a virtue.”  Plaintiffs should expect nearly any U.S. civil suit to last a minimum of a year from the date of the filing of the complaint.  This time frame stems from the high volume of cases generally handled by our hard-working judiciary, and the U.S. civil litigation system’s reliance on pre-trial discovery to uncover the facts of a case for purposes of guiding the matter to early resolution.  Naturally, the more factually and legally complex the matter, the longer the case will take to progress through litigation.

Following this, civil frauds tend to progress through the courts at a slower pace due to their complex factual basis and large number of impacted individuals.  For example, Bernie Madoff’s fraud was originally uncovered in 2009 and impacted thousands and litigation originating out of that fraud remains ongoing nearly a decade later.

This does not mean that recovery will never happen.  To the contrary, the U.S. justice system encourages partial and early resolution of matters, which in turn can lead to recovery for victims.  U.S. federal court statistics reflect that more than 90% of civil suits resolve before trial.  For example, in the nine years since it was uncovered, there have been nine distributions to victims of Madoff’s fraud, the first of which having occurred 2011.

Fraud victims seeking a recovery from a civil suit should remain patient and vigilant as their cases progress through the court system.  As an initial matter, once the complaint is filed, the matter will likely progress through initial motion practice, in which the defendant will seek to dismiss the complaint.  In the likely event the complaint survives dismissal, the defendant may be encouraged to settle but likely will not do so without first engaging in discovery.

U.S. discovery involves the exchange and review of documents relevant to the litigation, the exchange of and answering of interrogatories and other forms of written discovery, as well as the taking of depositions, among other things.  Depending on the case, experts may be retained, and reports written as to certain aspects of the matter.  Each of these endeavors requires scheduling and coordination between the parties to the litigation, as well as with the court.  All of this takes time.

With patience and the assistance of capable litigators, these efforts can potentially lead to a pre-trial recovery.  In the event the case does not resolve through discovery and instead progresses to trial, the lifespan and duration of the litigation will be impacted by the court’s calendar and the large number of trial logistics required to successfully put on a case.  These include, but are not limited to, the preparation of exhibits, experts and witnesses for trial, the vetting and selection of jurors where applicable, as well as the handling of the trial itself.  If successful, these efforts will result in an award and recovery that will help offset losses suffered by all victims to a fraud.