Most civil disputes in which a lawsuit is filed (civil litigation) are resolved by compromise and voluntary settlement agreements between the parties—whether the disputes involve divorce, child custody, and child support matters, or contracts and intellectual property (patents, copyrights, and trademarks) claims by businesses. Only a small percentage of lawsuits filed in the United States are resolved by jury trials.
In Pennsylvania, as in other states, the majority of civil disputes that lead to litigation are typically resolved through compromise and voluntary settlement agreements between the parties involved. This trend holds true across various types of civil matters, including family law issues such as divorce, child custody, and child support, as well as business-related disputes involving contracts and intellectual property rights like patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Settlements are often preferred due to the time, expense, and uncertainty associated with taking a case to trial. Consequently, only a small fraction of civil lawsuits ever reach the stage of a jury trial. The Pennsylvania legal system, through pre-trial conferences, mediation, and arbitration, encourages parties to settle their disputes out of court whenever possible.