The court may grant a motion to dismiss if the plaintiff's complaint fails to allege all the elements of a claim adequately. Or the court may grant it if the complaint fails to allege a measurable injury.
2-619. Involuntary dismissal based upon certain defects or defenses. (1) That the court does not have jurisdiction of the subject matter of the action, provided the defect cannot be removed by a transfer of the case to a court having jurisdiction.
Emergency Motions shall include an affidavit or verification stating facts that identify the nature of the sudden or unforeseen circumstances which give rise to the emergency and the reason why the matter should take precedence.
2-619. Involuntary dismissal based upon certain defects or defenses. (a) Defendant may, within the time for pleading, file a motion for dismissal of the action or for other appropriate relief upon any of the following grounds.
At the request of a party the court shall order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses, and it may make the order of its own motion.
A section 2-615 motion to dismiss is appropriate if there is a defect on the face of the complaint or other pleading. Common bases for a section 2-615 motion include failing to allege essential elements of the alleged cause of action and failing to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, among others.
A motion to strike is a request to a judge that part of a party's pleading or a piece of evidence be removed from the record. During the pleading stage, this can be accomplished by a tool such as Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a state equivalent.
The 2-615 motions attack defects appearing on the face of the plead- ings. They have two basic require- ments. The first requirement is the motion must specifically point out the defect complained of. The sec- ond requirement is the motion must ask for the appropriate relief.
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. v.
Rule 12(f) provides in relevant part that on motion or sua sponte, “the court may strike from a pleading . . . any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.” If Lexis annotations are a guide, relatively few litigants file Rule 12(f) motions on those grounds—and with good reason.