Civil Procedure 101 - Part 2

In my continuing efforts to live up to the name of the blog. Feel free to use the information provided.

Disclaimer: should not be taken as actual legal advice in any particular situation.

Motions

Motions to Dismiss

In addition to the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, there are other motions to dismiss: for lack of jurisdiction, for improper venue, for failure to implead all necessary parties, etc.

In any motion to dismiss, you assume the allegations in the Complaint are true, and you have to demonstrate that there is some other factor that the plaintiff failed to include that impacts the court's ability to hear the case.

Motion for Summary Judgment

Similar to, but completely different from, a motion to dismiss, the motion for summary judgment can also end the case. Where a motion to dismiss has no impact on the defendant, however, a motion for summary judgment is a "win" for the party that succeeds. A motion for summary judgment can be brought by any party. It is usually not filed until after the Defenadnt has filed an Answer, but can be brought at any time.

In a MfSJ, the party filing the motion (the "moving party") sets out the "undisputed facts" and tries to demonstrate that there are no facts still in dispute that need resolution, the only issues are issues of law. If that is the case, the judge can decide the case, or a specific portion of the case, without a trial by jury.

A MfSJ can be filed seeking resolution of just the defendant's liability, and there can then be a jury trial on the amount of damages (this happens a lot, especially in negligence cases where the fact that the defendant caused the plaintiff's injuries is clear, but where facts regarding the medical treatment and actual damages are not).

Motions in Limine

Motions in Limine are filed to ask the court to set a limit, usually as to what sort of evidence can and cannot be introduced at trial.

Motion to Intervene

A person who is not a party, but who has an interest in a case that they want resolved or protected by the court, can file a motion to intervene. If granted, they become an intervening plaintiff. An example would be: in an motor vehicle accident case, a medical insurer who pays benefits for the plaintiff's accident-related injuries is entitled to recover the amount paid out if the plaintiff's claim against the defendant is successful; this is called a "subrogation lien". If the subrogated insurer is not named as a party (they're supposed to be, but mistakes happen), they can file a motion to intervene in the case in order to protect their lien.

Those are the most common types of motions. More later!

a. ;)