In other words, both types of motions ask the district court to look at the pleadings to determine whether the adversary has a legally cognizable claim.11 As with a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, if the court considers matters outside the pleadings, it must convert the motion to one for summary judgment and provide all parties a reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56. A Rule 12(c) motion also challenges the legal sufficiency of the opposing party’s pleadings and can be used to attack subject matter jurisdiction. Rule 12(c) provides that “fter the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial, any party may move for judgment on the pleadings.”10 Theoretically, a motion for judgment on the pleadings is the equivalent of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. Lack of jurisdiction over the subject matterįailure to state a claim upon which relief can be grantedįailure to join a party under Rule 198 Additionally, the rule admonishes a defendant that a motion raising any of these defenses “shall be made before pleading if a further pleading is permitted.”9 Blanchard are Assistant State’s Attorneys assigned to the Civil Actions Bureau where they handle a wide array of litigation on behalf of Cook County and affiliated officers, agencies, and other elected officials in state and federal courts.įederal Rules of Civil Procedure rather than state law.6 After a plaintiff files a complaint, Rule 12(b) counsels a defendant upon the bases that she can properly file a motion to dismiss in lieu of a responsive pleading to the complaint.7 Those bases include the following: Blanchard is the Chief of the Special Litigation Division of the Cook County State’s Attorney Office in Chicago. Used correctly and shrewdly, is a lethal weapon that can resolve lengthy, expensive, and exhausting litigation years before a case reaches the trial stage.4 The Rule 12(C) Motionįacial challenges to the legal sufficiency of a claim or defense ordinarily should be resolved before discovery begins.5 Further, the adequacy of the pleadings is an issue determined by the dice, an attorney can win the trial-court round, put an opponent on the defensive, save time and money that would be spent in court, and emerge a hero to the client. As one author described a winning motion practice, albeit in the context of summary judgment: Because a motion for judgment on the pleadings can highlight for the court its ability to resolve the case, merely by examining the initial papers,3 its use can mean the difference between unnecessarily protracted litigation and a prompt resolution of the dispute. Thus, Rule 12(c) motions can help dispose of baseless claims or defenses when the formal pleadings reveal their lack of merit. Rule 12(c) was designed to prevent the piecemeal process of judicial determination that prevailed under the old common law practice.2 It allows for a decision on the merits of the claims based upon the pleadings in special circumstances, such as when the parties do not dispute the facts in the pleadings. Motions for judgment on the pleadings are essentially trials on the pleadings. Practitioners, however, should consider and incorporate Rule 12(c) motions into their litigation strategies. Rule 12(c) motions-allowing a party to move, after the pleadings are closed, for judgment on the pleadings-are often overlooked. If asking attorneys what type of pretrial challenges they consider to be part of their arsenal of motions challenging the adequacy of the pleadings, their response likely would be limited to motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim, motions to strike, or motions for summary judgment. The figure of speech is contradictory, but the idea makes perfectly good sense.”1Įxperienced practitioners are familiar with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, which provides for various pretrial motions to challenge the opposing party’s pleadings and to assert other defenses and objections.
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