What is a Motion to Dismiss?

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller who stated that his attorney dropped his case and told him he needed to get another lawyer. When asked why, the caller said that his lawsuit was challenged with a motion to dismiss. The attorney who no longer wanted to work on the case, said that he expected that the motion would be granted and saw no grounds to dispute the motion. The caller wanted to know his options.

We sometimes get calls like this where an attorney has decided to discontinue representing someone after filing a complaint and then receiving a response.

So what exactly is a motion to dismiss?

Well think of it this way, it’s a motion asking the court to look at the complaint and rule that the complaint itself is legally insufficient, so much so, that the complaint ought to be tossed out of court in its entirety.

To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint must contain sufficient factual information, that if accepted as true, states a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.

In other words, the complaint has to set forth facts that will permit a court to conclude that if all of the facts alleged are true, the defendant could reasonably be held liable for the misconduct alleged.

Here’s a practical example, suppose when a complaint is filed the date is January 1, 2025. Suppose that the complaint itself refers to alleged misconduct that occurred on January 1, 2015.

If a motion to dismiss is filed, the court must take as true that the misconduct alleged occurred in January of 2015, but the court may also look at the two-year statute of limitations, and conclude that if the misconduct indeed occurred 10 years earlier, there is no way for the plaintiff to prevail.  In such a fact situation a court must dismiss the complaint.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”