How Cases Move Through Federal Courts
Civil Cases
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Motions
Attorneys use motions to request that the court take a specific action--for example, to resolve a dispute between the parties concerning procedure by issuing an order. Motions may be filed at any stage of a case. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 even provides a short list of motions that a defendant may make before filing an answer to a complaint, such as a motion for a more definite statement in the complaint.
As discovery gets under way a discovery motion may be filed--for example, asking the judge to order a party to appear for a deposition. Or if the defendant refuses to answer the plaintiff’s interrogatories on the ground that they are too broad or not relevant, the plaintiff might file a motion asking the judge to order the defendant to answer them.
An important motion that is often filed in the pretrial phase of a case is one for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The filing party attempts to convince the court that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because after looking at all the evidence in the case, there is no dispute as to the facts. If summary judgment is granted regarding all the issues in dispute, that is the end of the lawsuit.
Opposing parties must be served with a copy of any motion. After allowing them time to respond, the judge may hold a hearing before ruling on the motion. |
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