Standing

A Levels Academy Islamabad

Transcript

00:00Sure, most of us like the idea of justice being served, or at least cake being served.

00:08But that doesn't mean we can all just participate in whatever court case we feel strongly about.

00:12That's because you must be legitimately connected to a lawsuit in some way to be involved

00:17in the actual proceedings.

00:19In legal talk, that means you have to have what's known as standing.

00:24Standing in a court case is not what you do when you run out of chairs.

00:29Standing is to have a personal stake in the issue.

00:32To have, as they say, a dog in the race.

00:36In more technical terms, standing is the ability of a party to demonstrate a sufficient link

00:41to a case, enough for the court to support the party's participation in it.

00:45A person must have either been harmed by the action on which the suit is based, or have

00:50a direct stake in the outcome.

00:52It breaks down to three fundamental requirements for standing.

00:56Injury in fact is one.

00:58Injury here doesn't just mean physical harm, but economic and personal as well.

01:03Two is causation, meaning the injury had to be caused by the conduct of the other party

01:08and can reasonably be traced to them.

01:10And three is redressability.

01:12No, not the indecisive Bridezilla kind.

01:16The kind that means a favorable court decision will compensate for the injury.

01:20In Florida, the courts are not in agreement as to when a defendant may raise a plaintiff's

01:24lack of standing as a defense.

01:26Some have held it must be in an affirmative defense in your answer.

01:30Others say it can be addressed by way of a motion to dismiss.

01:34Still, others say it is never waived and can be raised at any time before appeal, even

01:39after judgment.

01:41The safest thing to do is raise it both by way of a motion to dismiss and include it

01:46in your affirmative defenses.

01:49This will pave the way for getting a hearing and asking the judge to toss the case, because

01:53the plaintiff lacks standing.

01:55If the court agrees, the case could be dismissed or judgment entered in your favor.

02:00Standing is a broad term that is applied differently across every kind of court case, from pollution

02:05cases to home foreclosures to class action lawsuits, each with its own nuances.

02:11When it comes to figuring out if you or your opponent has standing in a lawsuit of any

02:15type, LegalYou is standing by.

02:20LegalYou.

02:21You can do this.