A motion to strike material from a complaint must be filed before filing an answer. FRCP 12(f). Therefore, unless otherwise ordered by the court, the motion must be filed by the defendant within 21 days after being served with a summons and complaint, or within 60 days if service of the complaint was timely waived.
Although most defenses to a complaint must be stated in the answer, a defendant can move to dismiss the complaint before filing an answer. Motions to dismiss typically make one or more of these arguments: The court lacks the authority or jurisdiction to decide the case or to compel a defendant to appear.
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, ...
At the trial stage, a party may wish to make a motion to strike to remove evidence–usually part of a witness's testimony–from the court record, with the jury instructed to disregard the evidence. This is commonly accomplished by raising an objection, which a judge can either sustain or overrule.
PRACTICE TIP: Courts consider striking a party's pleading to be an extreme measure, and motions to strike are viewed with disfavor and infrequently granted. POL. Many courts consider filing this motion as a dilatory tactic.
A motion to strike may be brought against complaints, cross-complaints, answers and demurrers. A motion to strike can be brought against an entire pleading, or any part of a pleading.
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 primary purpose of a motion to strike is to clean up the pleadings by eliminating irrelevant, redundant, or legally insufficient parts. This helps in focusing the litigation on the substantive issues, thereby streamlining the legal process.
Motions to strike, under Rule 12(f), are reserved for challenging "any redundant, irrelevant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter."
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.