Terms Used In Idaho Code 3-205

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
The measure and mode of compensation of attorneys and counselors at law is left to the agreement, express or implied, of the parties, which is not restrained by law. From the commencement of an action, or the service of an answer containing a counterclaim, the attorney who appears for a party has a lien upon his client’s cause of action or counterclaim, which attaches to a verdict, report, decision or judgment in his client’s favor and the proceeds thereof in whosoever hands they may come; and can not be affected by any settlement between the parties before or after judgment.