MOTIONS TO DISMISS IN CIVIL CASES ARE COMMON

Motions to Dismiss is common in civil litigation cases such as breach of contract or fraud cases.  In these civil litigation cases, motions to dismiss are likely based on “failure to state a claim.”  A motion to dismiss is filed in response to a complaint filed by the Plaintiff requesting that the court grant them some form of relief usually damages. A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim essentially states that, even if every fact alleged in the opposing party's petition or claim was true, legally the opposing party would not be entitled to the relief they are requesting.

In making a decision of whether to grant a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the court should only consider the information contained within “the four corners” of the complaint. That is, the court examines the factual allegations contained in the complaint and (for purposes of deciding whether to dismiss the petition) considers all of those factual allegations true. In addition, the court will make and accept reasonable inferences drawn from those allegations that support the complaint. The court should look at the complaint and give the party that filed the complaint every benefit of the doubt. If there is still no legally recognized claim under which the court can grant relief, then the motion to dismiss will be granted.

If a motion to dismiss is granted, the court may dismiss the case without prejudice. This gives the other party the opportunity to correct the errors or mistakes and refile the case. In rare cases, if there has been egregious conduct, or the Court can see no viable claim, the court can dismiss with prejudice. This would prohibit the Plaintiff from trying to refile the case again.  Dismissals with prejudice normally take place after the claimant has made more than one attempt to properly assert their claims. 

Filing a complaint is not any easy task, even if you have a great case.

If your case has been dismissed and you have questions, your time is limited to refile your case so please give us a call at (321) 306-8718 or email us at [email protected] to set a time to talk about your case before its too late.