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Why The Defendant May File A Motion To Dismiss Your Injury Case

27 February 2017

Deann Miles

At the beginning of your personal injury case, the defendant may file a motion to dismiss your case so that the court doesn't hear it at all. Here are some of the bases the defendant may use in their motion to dismiss:

Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

If the defendant cites lack of subject matter jurisdiction in their motion to dismiss, then they are basically saying that the court doesn't have the mandate to hear an assault personal injury case. This is possible because courts are designed to handle specific issues. For example, family courts hear family law cases, criminal courts try criminal suspects, and bankruptcy courts hear bankruptcy cases.

Therefore, if a criminal court is dealing with your assault case, you can't demand compensation in the same court because the criminal court isn't meant for civil cases (a personal injury case is a civil case). For you to succeed with your claim, you have to file a separate lawsuit in a civil court.

Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

In this case, the defendant is claiming that the court doesn't have the authority over them. This is a valid legal claim because courts can only hear cases involving parties over which they have authority. There are specific prerequisites that must be met before a court can gain personal jurisdiction over a person. For example, a court has jurisdiction over a person who meets any of these criteria:

• The person lives in the jurisdiction in which the court sits
• The person has some contacts (such as business dealings) with the court's jurisdiction.
• The person has been properly served with lawsuit papers in the court's jurisdiction.
• The person caused or experienced an accident within the court's jurisdiction.

Therefore, if John Doe assaulted you in Lansing, Michigan, you cannot sue them for damages in St. Cloud, Minnesota if the courts if the person has never been to Minnesota and doesn't have any ties to the Gopher State.

Expiry of Statute Of Limitations

Lastly, the defendant may also file a motion to dismiss by claiming that the statute of limitations has elapsed. The statutes of limitations are the time limits within which you are allowed to instigate a lawsuit. For example, if you are injured in Delaware, you have two years to instigate your personal injury case. Therefore, if the defendant feels that this time has elapsed, they can use the expiry to seek a motion for dismissal.

Just because the defendant has filed a motion to dismiss doesn't mean that it will succeed. An experienced personal injury, like one from Hoffman, Hamer & Associates, PLLC, attorney that can argue your case and ensure the motion to dismiss doesn't succeed.

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