Common Grounds for Dismissing a Lawsuit
As many people are already aware, only a small fraction of cases go to trial. Many cases settle before a trial ever takes place, and some matters are dismissed shortly after a lawsuit is filed. Although there are many arguments attorneys can make when trying to have a lawsuit dismissed in the early stages of the case, there are some common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit that are implicated in many lawsuits.
Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
Lack of personal jurisdiction is one of the most common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit. In order to decide a matter, a court needs to have personal jurisdiction over the defendants. This means that the court has the power to decide matters relating to the defendants based on the relationship between the defendants and the state where a court is located. Generally, a court has broad jurisdiction over a defendant if they reside in a state, and in the case of companies, if the company is either incorporated in the state or has its headquarters in the state.
The plaintiff usually has a more difficult burden if a plaintiff wants to sue a defendant in a state other than the state in which defendants reside. In these instances, the plaintiff needs to show that the defendant has some connection to the state so that it would be fair for that defendant to be dragged into court in a state where they do not live. Generally, this requires a substantial business relationship or that some act committed by the defendant caused harm within the state. Since plaintiffs regularly want to sue defendants in states where they do not live, lack of personal jurisdiction is one of the common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit.
Failure to State a Claim
Another one of the most common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit is arguing that the plaintiff failed to state a claim. After the complaint is filed starting a case, defendants can allege that the plaintiff has not properly pled a case in the complaint. At this stage of the lawsuit, courts typically give plaintiffs every advantage when proving that they have stated a claim for relief. In addition, courts usually do not look at documentary or other evidence at this stage and merely review the complaint itself to see if a claim has been made. Even if there is a small chance the plaintiff has stated a reasonable claim, the court will usually allow a case to proceed, but this argument can be used to dismiss many kinds of lawsuits.
Insufficient Service of Process
Another one of the common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit is insufficient service of process. After filing a lawsuit, the plaintiff is required to serve the defendants with the summons, complaint, and other documents. Although rules about service of process differ, process must typically be served in person, left with someone in the household where some lives, or sent through the mail. If a plaintiff does not leave the papers with the right person or fails to follow these steps, the case can be dismissed. Nevertheless, courts routinely allow plaintiffs multiple chances to serve defendants with process, so in the interest of efficiency, it may not make sense to assert this ground as a means to have a lawsuit dismissed.
Statute of Limitations
Lawsuits cannot be filed too long after an incident giving rise to the case occurred, and this is another one of the common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit. The time period by which lawsuits must be filed is determined by a state’s statute of limitations. Each state has different time periods for various types of claims, and most types of lawsuits must be filed within one to three years after the incident giving rise to the litigation occurred. Some cases can be filed up to six years after an incident occurred, and still other types of cases may be filed ten years after the situation giving rise to the lawsuit happed. There are certain exceptions to statute of limitations, so even if it has been a few years since an incident took place, individuals should contact an experienced lawyer to determine if a case might be dismissed on this basis.
Prior Releases
One of the less common grounds for dismissing a lawsuit is releases. Oftentimes when people settle a lawsuit, they sign a release agreeing not to further sue defendants for certain types of claims. However, the parties involved in that matter may have further claims against each other. Since it is usually difficult to determine which types of claims parties may have against each other in the future when agreeing on a release, it is possible that parties may further litigate a related matter even if a prior release was negotiated between the parties.
Defendants are usually entitled to file a motion seeking to have a case dismissed if a prior release has been negotiated between the parties. There are certain defenses that can be raised to prevent a case from being dismissed due to a release, including duress, incapacity, fraud, and a number of other grounds. As a result, clients should consult an experienced lawyer if they wish to pursue a claim they might have previously released to determine if their case is likely to succeed in court.
The Rothman Law Firm has substantial experience both arguing for the dismissal of lawsuits and defending against parties who wish to have cases dismissed. If you are facing a lawsuit and wish to discuss your matter with an experienced New Jersey and New York attorney, please feel free to contact The Rothman Law Firm to request a free legal consultation.