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fictitious defendants definition
when a party suing (plaintiff) is not sure if he/she knows if there are unknown
persons involved in the incident or the business being sued, there are named fictitious
persons, usually designated Doe I, Doe II, and so forth, or "Green and Red Company,"
with an allegation in the complaint that if and when the true names are discovered
they will be inserted in the complaint by amendment. Naming fictitious defendants
stops the statute of limitations (the time in which a party has to file a lawsuit)
from running out even though the true name is not yet known. Sometimes during the
investigation or discovery (taking depositions or asking written questions under
oath) new information about a potential defendant is found and the real name substituted.
Then that person is served with a summons and complaint. If no substitution of a
real name for a Doe has been made by the time of trial, usually the fictitious defendants
are then dismissed from the case since they never existed in the first place, and
the case continues against the named defendants. Fictitious defendants are not permitted
in federal cases.
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