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.
When a court dismisses an action, they can either do so “with prejudice” or “without prejudice.” Dismissal with prejudice means that the plaintiff cannot refile the same claim again in that 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.
A case is dismissed with prejudice when the defect cannot be remedied because, for example, the claim has no basis in law, and it is permanently dismissed. (That does not mean that you can't bring an appeal to challenge the trial judge's decision.)
In general, an action taken with prejudice is final. For example, dismissal with prejudice forbids a party to refile the case and might occur because of misconduct on the part of the party that filed the claim or criminal complaint or as the result of an out-of-court agreement or settlement.
What happens next? If we filed the motion to strike in a trial court, then we will set the motion to be heard by a judge or magistrate, and be ruled upon. If we filed it in an appeals court, the appeals court will read the motion and offending document and will rule on it without hearing.
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, ...