A motion to dismiss asks the court to dismiss either whole or part of a complaint, counterclaim, or crossclaim. Motion to strike or "Demurrer": In some jurisdictions, a motion to strike or a "demurrer" is the equivalent to a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that "The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Similarly, for example, the California Code of Civil Procedure provides that a motion to strike may be made to strike out any "irrelevant, ...
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.
If a case cannot be removed immediately but becomes removable later, the defendant has 30 days from the receipt of the amended complaint or pleading that makes the case removable.
If a motion to dismiss attacks the original complaint for deficiencies that persist in the amended complaint, the court may choose to apply the original motion to dismiss to the amended complaint, rather than deny the motion as moot and require that the defendant file a new motion to dismiss duplicative allegations ...
In most circuits, including the 3rd, 6th and 8th Circuits, an amended complaint automatically moots a pending motion to dismiss and creates a duty to respond to the amended complaint. Other circuits, however, recognize exceptions to the majority rule.
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.
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.