Pleadings Stage, Part II

For today's post, we are continuing our discussion of what can occur during the pleadings stage of a lawsuit. As we discussed in Tuesday's post, filing an answer to a complaint is one way a defendant may to respond to a complaint. Another way to respond to a complaint is to file a "motion to dismiss."

Motion to Dismiss Basics

In general, the purpose of a motion to dismiss is to formally ask the court to throw out/dismiss the case.

A defendant may file a motion to dismiss under various circumstances, such as if the complaint is without merit or has no basis in fact or law.

Depending on the situation, motions to dismiss are typically governed by state or federal procedural rules and are usually made in writing before trial (or orally at the start of or during the trial).

In addition, the parties will typically be required to attend and make their arguments at a hearing on the motion.

If the motion is granted, the case is usually dismissed with or without prejudice. When a case is dismissed "without prejudice," the plaintiff is allowed to file the case against the defendant in the future again with additional grounds; when a case is dismissed "with prejudice," the case is dismissed and the plaintiff cannot bring the case before the court ever again.

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*This blog post should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information purposes only.