What is "motion practice" in a personal injury claim?

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Car Accidents, on Monday, July 20, 2015

If you have been injured in an accident, such as a car or motorcycle collision with another vehicle, making a claim against the other driver is not as simple as going to the courthouse and starting a lawsuit. There are multiple intervening steps that will take place between the time you contact a personal injury attorney and the onset of trial. If settlement negotiations do not lead to a satisfactory outcome, then before trial commences there is often one more intervening step: the filing and resolution of pretrial motions.It is a common defense tactic in personal injury lawsuits to look for weaknesses in the plaintiff’s case as early as possible, and to try to exploit them through making motions before the court, a process referred to by attorneys as “motion practice.” This post examines some of the types of pretrial motions to dismiss your claim in advance that you and your attorney may be faced with. Lack of jurisdiction: For a court to be able to resolve a lawsuit, it must have both subject matter and personal jurisdiction over the action. Defense attorneys may try to claim that the court lacks either of these two forms of jurisdiction as a way to defeat the lawsuit.Lack of proper venue: Similar to jurisdiction, your attorney must file the lawsuit in the court best located to hear the matter. A defense motion may try to claim that a different court would be better suitedВ Lack of proper service of process: A legal complaint must be delivered to the defendant in a legally recognized manner. A technical defect in the service of process may open an avenue for a motion to challenge the complaint.Lack of a proper claim upon which to grant relief: A negligence cause of action requires the plaintiff to allege specific elements, all of which must exist to establish a claim on which the court can grant relief. You can expect the defense attorney to carefully scrutinize your legal complaint to see if he or she can claim that one or more elements is missing.Pretrial motions are not always fatal to a personal injury case. Many times they only result in delays even when they are successful. It is the responsibility of your attorney to understand motion practice to properly prepare your complaint.