Understanding the Litigation Process Litigation and dispute resolution are a part of everyday life in the business environment. Understanding the stages and process of litigation prepares business owners and managers for the challenges associated with civil litigation. Read the hypothetical case below in which a dispute is developing over services provided by a vendor to one of its clients. First, determine the correct sequence of the stages of litigation. Then, students will drag an action by one of the parties and drop it on the appropriate stage of litigation. MediaCo is the owner of several media outlets, including radio, television, and newspaper entities. MediaCo has contracted with WebCo to provide website design and support services for all of its outlets. The agreement calls for MediaCo to pay an up-front fee of $50,000 for an overhaul and upgrade of its website and $10,000 per month thereafter for support services for the sites. Over the first three months, WebCo made upgrades to MediaCo's various websites and sent MediaCo a monthly invoice for $10,000 on the last day of each month. In the fourth month, MediaCo complained that the website overhaul was not consistent with the style discussed during preliminary meetings. MediaCo also complained that the upgraded website actually had more technical problems than the previous versions. MediaCo demands its fee be refunded and the contract be terminated. WebCo refuses to refund the fee, arguing that no objection was made to the design for three months. WebCo demands that its invoices be paid. Litigation is brewing. Step 2 - Assign the action to the appropriate stage of ligation on the timeline. MediaCo contacts The attorney for MediaCo takes the WebCo files an The judge encourages WebCo and threatens MediaCo gives her deposition of WebCo's answer to MediaCo's the parties to settle the to sue for a refund. opening statement. senior manager. complaint. case before trial. Pre-lawsuit Pleadings Discovery Pretrial conference Trial 1 3 4 5