Pre-Trial Motions in Personal Injury Litigation

These are formal requests filed with the court before the trial begins, often during the initial stages, discovery, or preparation for trial.

Motion to Dismiss: A request by the defendant to end the case early because the plaintiff's complaint is legally insufficient, such as lacking jurisdiction (wrong court), failure to state a valid legal claim, improper service of papers, or the statute of limitations (time limit to file) has expired. If granted, the case may be thrown out entirely or partially, sometimes allowing refiling.

Motion for Summary Judgment: A request by either party asking the court to decide the case (or part of it) without a trial because there are no disputed key facts, and the law clearly favors the moving party based on the evidence gathered so far. It's filed after some discovery but before trial.

Motion for Summary Disposition: Similar to a motion for summary judgment, this asks the court to resolve the case immediately without further fact-finding, claiming no relevant facts are in dispute and the law supports the moving party.

Motion to Compel Discovery: Filed when one party refuses to provide requested information, documents, or responses during the discovery phase (evidence gathering). The court may order the non-cooperating party to comply, with possible penalties like fines or evidence exclusion if ignored.

Motion for Protective Order: A request to limit or prevent certain discovery requests that are overly burdensome, irrelevant, invasive, or involve privileged information, protecting the party from unfair demands during evidence exchange.

Motion in Limine: A pre-trial request to exclude (or sometimes include) specific evidence from being presented at trial because it's irrelevant, prejudicial (unfairly biased), or inadmissible under rules of evidence, such as past accidents or insurance details.

Motion for Default Judgment: Filed by the plaintiff if the defendant fails to respond to the lawsuit within the required time. If granted, the plaintiff wins automatically without a trial, and the case moves to determining damages.

Motion for Alternative Service: A request for permission to serve legal papers (like the complaint) in a non-traditional way, such as by publication in a newspaper or social media, if the other party is hard to locate or avoiding service.

Motion Regarding Discovery: A general term for requests asking the court to resolve disputes over evidence gathering, which can include motions to compel (force production), quash (cancel a subpoena), or issue a protective order.

Motion to Quash: Specifically asks the court to invalidate or cancel a subpoena (order to produce documents or testify) because it's improper, overly broad, or violates rights.

Motion to Amend Pleadings: A request by either party to change or update their initial court filings (like the complaint or answer) to add new claims, correct errors, or reflect new information discovered.

Motion to Strike: Asks the court to remove specific parts of the other party's filings or evidence because they are improper, irrelevant, redundant, or violate court rules, such as undisclosed claims or evidence.

Motion for Continuance: A request to delay or postpone a hearing, deposition, or trial date due to reasons like needing more time to prepare, illness, or unavailable witnesses.

Motion to Exclude Experts (Daubert Motion): Challenges the qualifications or reliability of an expert witness (like a doctor or accident reconstructionist), asking the court to prevent them from testifying because their opinions don't meet legal standards for admissibility.

Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings: Similar to a motion to dismiss but filed after initial responses are submitted; it asks the court to decide the case based solely on the written pleadings if they show no valid dispute.

Motion to Transfer Venue: Requests to move the case to a different court location for reasons like convenience, fairness, or because the current venue is improper.

Pre-Commencement Motion for Evidence: Filed at the start of the lawsuit to obtain or preserve critical evidence, such as data from a vehicle's black box, before it might be lost.

Motion for Spoliation or Destruction of Evidence: Addresses situations where evidence has been destroyed or altered, asking the court to penalize the responsible party, such as by assuming the evidence would have favored the other side.

Motion to Set a Discovery Schedule: Requests the court to establish a timeline for evidence exchange, especially in complex cases with multiple parties or delays.

Motion for a Subpoena: Asks the court to issue an order compelling a third party (not involved in the lawsuit) to provide documents, records, or testimony.

Motion for Protective Order or to Preclude: Prevents the other party from using certain claims or evidence that are improper, such as hearsay or undisclosed information.

These are requests made during the actual trial to address issues as they arise.

Motion for Directed Verdict: Filed by the defendant after the plaintiff presents their evidence (but before the defense does), arguing that no reasonable jury could rule for the plaintiff based on what's been shown, asking the judge to end the case in the defendant's favor.

Motion for Mistrial: A request to stop the trial and declare it invalid due to serious errors or prejudicial events (like improper statements or jury misconduct) that make a fair outcome impossible.

Motion for Limiting Instructions: Asks the judge to give specific instructions to the jury on how to consider or disregard certain evidence or statements to avoid unfair influence.

These are actions taken after the trial verdict to challenge, modify, or enforce the outcome. Remedies refer to ways to correct or appeal the result.

Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV): Filed after the jury's verdict, asking the judge to overrule the jury and enter a different judgment because the evidence doesn't reasonably support the jury's decision.

Motion for a New Trial: Requests a completely new trial due to errors during the original trial, newly discovered evidence, jury misconduct, or other issues that made the outcome unfair.

Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment: Asks the court to change or correct the final judgment after it's entered, often for clerical errors, new evidence, or legal mistakes.

Motion to Overturn the Verdict and Order a New Trial: Specifically challenges the jury's findings because the evidence doesn't support them, seeking a retrial.

Motion to Reduce Damages (Remittitur): Requests the court to lower the amount of money awarded by the jury because it's excessive or not supported by the evidence.

Motion to Increase Damages (Additur): In some jurisdictions, asks the court to raise the jury's damage award if it's deemed too low (less common than remittitur).

Motion to Overturn the Verdict Due to Procedural Error: Challenges the verdict because of mistakes in trial procedures that led to an unfair result.

Motion for Relief from Judgment: A broader request (often under rules like Rule 60) to vacate or set aside the judgment due to fraud, mistake, new evidence, or other extraordinary reasons.

Appeal: A request for a higher court to review the trial court's decision for legal errors, misconduct, procedural flaws, or improper application of the law. If successful, it could result in overturning the verdict, ordering a new trial, or modifying damages. Appeals don't involve new evidence and can take months or years.

Post-Judgment Motions for Enforcement: After a final judgment, requests to collect the awarded damages, such as through garnishment (taking from wages), attachment (seizing property), or execution (court-ordered sale of assets).

Motion to Stay Collection of Judgment: Filed during appeals or post-trial motions to temporarily halt enforcement of the judgment (e.g., payment) while challenges are resolved, often requiring a bond.

Motion to Direct a Verdict in Favor of the Losing Party: A post-verdict request (similar to JNOV) arguing the jury was wrong and the judge should rule oppositely.