Alabama Injury Lawsuit - Part Five - Court Decides Defendant's Motion To Dismiss
After a lawsuit has been filed and the defendant has been served, the defendant may challenge the lawsuit solely on the allegations in the complaint and ask the court to throw the lawsuit out of court, or to dismiss the lawsuit.
In layman's terms, the defendant is saying to the court that even if you assume everything in the plaintiff's complaint is true, you should still throw it out because the plaintiff has not stated a claim against the defendant.
There can be several reasons for this dismissal. Some examples are that the plaintiff may have not plead a proper legal action, the facts as plead by the plaintiff, even if proven, could never result in a verdict for the plaintiff, there may be a legal defense, such as statute of limitations, which would prevent the plaintiff from winning.
Under the law, dismissals are held to a high legal standard and most cases, assuming they are plead correctly by a knowledgeable attorney, will not be dismissed at this stage. All facts are assumed to be true as plead and all inferences are taken in favor of the plaintiff. In most cases, "notice pleading," pleadings that simply put the defendant on notice of the nature and basic facts of the claim will be enough to get past the Motion to Dismiss Stage.
If the court denies the Motion to Dismiss, the defendant will then have to file an Answer to the Complaint.
