A motion to strike is a request by one party in a United States trial requesting that the presiding judge order the removal of all or part of the opposing party's pleading to the court.
As with all motions, a motion to strike must state with particularity the grounds for seeking the order to strike, as well as the relief sought. FRCP 7(b); Smart Code®. Under FRCP 12(f), the court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.
Grounds for a motion to strike include the following: The pleading is false; that is, untrue. The pleading is filed without the required leave of court. The form of pleading is in violation of a court order. The pleading is filed late. The pleading is barred by the statute of limitations. The pleading must be verified.
A motion to strike must be made before a responsive pleading, if a responsive pleading is permitted. If no responsive pleading is permitted, a motion to strike must be made within 21 days after being served with the pleading.
A “motion to dismiss” is typically filed in response to a complaint and is made in lieu of filing an “answer.” Technically, a plaintiff can move to “strike” a defense that a defendant has pled, given that defenses are subject to the same pleading requirements as are the plaintiff's claims.
All words any words phrase. motion to strike. n. a request for a judge's order to eliminate all or a portion of the legal pleading (complaint, answer) of the opposition on any one of several grounds. It is often used in an attempt to have an entire cause of action removed ("stricken") from the court record.
C.C.P. § 436 allows for a motion to strike “any irrelevant, false, or improper matter asserted in any pleading” or portion of a pleading “not drawn of filed in conformity with the laws of this state.” A motion to strike is proper “when a substantive defect is clear from the face of a complaint.” (PH II, Inc.
Motion to Strike Example Plaintiff supermarket alleges it has a contract with its subtenant (say, a bank or a coffee shop), the landlord knew of the contract and induced the subtenant to breach its sublease with plaintiff to take open retail space owned by the landlord in the same shopping center as the supermarket.