So evidence for the Dragon Family lawsuit has already been presented to the court?
And accepted?
No. A civil complain contains only allegations. All that is required for a court to accept a lawsuit is that the suit not be patently frivolous and implausible on its face. The plaintiff need only state what he alleges "upon belief and information." There is no standard of proof at this stage beyond avoiding the absurd. If you attempt to sue Santa Claus, the court will not accept your suit.
The purpose of a trial is to determine whether the plaintiff's allegations are supported by evidence. At this stage the standard of proof typically requires clear and convincing evidence.
But before a trial is scheduled there is a preliminary hearing at which the plaintiff must present his evidence. He does not have to prove that his allegations are true at this point, only that his evidence has merit enough for the court to proceed to trial.
For example, if I sue a contractor for the return of his fee alleging that the work was not done according to the terms of the contract, the court will naturally accept my complaint as a valid enough form of complaint. Suits over breaches of contract are common, and there is nothing in the complain that seems unreasonable.
Even if I were to file suit claiming that my coworkers had conspired to harm me by infecting my office telephone with pathogens, it would still be accepted. (This, by the way, was an actual civil suit filed in my district.) Even though the meat of the complain smacks of unfounded paranoia, there is nothing unreasonable in it. The complaint in question
was accepted.
But if I were to file suit claiming that my contractor put a hex on my house while pouring a new concrete porch, the lawsuit would be rejected because the court does not adjudicate upon the supernatural. Since the complaint itself alleges an absurdity, it can be rejected on its face.
Two of the cases above would advance to preliminary hearings. In the contractor case, I would be expected to produce the contract in question as well as physical, documentary, or eyewitness affidavits that established the nature of the work as it was actually performed. If, for example, I could not produce the contract then the suit would likely be dismissed at the preliminary hearing because the court would have no basis for judging whether the contractor's work was adequate.
In the case of the dirty telephone, I would be expected to produce evidence that my phone was contaminated, the nature of the contamination (e.g., via a lab report), and my coworkers' role in applying the contaminant (e.g., statements of witnesses, surveillance photography). If I fail to show evidence that my phone has been contaminated, then the case might not proceed to trial. I can state in the complaint, "Upon belief and information, Plaintiff alleges that the telephone receiver in his office was contaminated with a pathogen." But at the preliminary hearing, the defendants' counsel may ask, "What evidence do you have that the phone was contaminated?" And if I respond, "Well, it's only logical; I went to work that day, and then later I felt sick. I used my phone while I was at work, therefore it must have been what made me sick," then the judge might rule that the allegation is without merit and would almost certainly be refuted at trial.
:
Because I will then be an expert on the case. Well, maybe not. At least it would be good to be well prepared if the lawsuit turns into a huge media story.
