Physical and Mental Examinations . If relevant to the case, one party can request that another party be required to submit to a physical or mental examination by a professional of the requesting party's choice. Inspection of Real Property . If relevant to the case, a party can obtain an order from the court for permission to go onto and inspect real property owned by another party. Except for depositions, parties usually are required to respond to discovery requests within 30 days.
Special rules apply to depositions.
Unless the court finds a discovery request was improper, the court can order a non-responsive party to respond and impose sanctions for failure to do so. In many civil lawsuits, there is an absolute right to a trial by jury unless waived by the parties. If a jury is waived, the evidence is heard and the case is decided by the judge alone. At the trial court level, smaller cases, particularly those in Small Claims Court and the Associate Division of the Circuit Court, are typically decided within one to three months. More complicated cases, usually in the Circuit Court, usually take from six to 18 months to resolve.