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Ok, I just came back to my office from our Motion for Summary Judgment / Adjudication hearing. If you remember, I used your litigation forms. This was my second time appearing as a certified law student. My supervising attorney argued, but I prepared the entire motion. The motion was a huge success! The judge threw out virtually every defense except mitigation of damages. He threw out comparative negligence, comparative fault, assumption of the risk, contribution of third parties and etc. The trial will just be based on damages now. And we already settled another case after using your forms.

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Pleading

As explained in the topic Litigation, "pleading" is one of the phases of the litigation process.

In the pleading stage of a criminal or civil case, the defendant is entitled to show that he has been charged or accused incorrectly; there is no such right in an adiminstrative case. One must carefully distinguish between the defendant's right to prove he has been charged incorrectly, as opposed to his right to prove that he is innocent of the charges if it is a criminal case, or that he is free of liability if it is a civil case. An incorrect charge does not necessarily mean the defendant is innocent or free of liability, just as a correctly worded charge does not necessarily mean he is guilty or liable. Nevertheless, a pleading challenge sometimes can resolve a case partially or even entirely.

The motions that challenge the sufficiency of a pleading generally include the demurrer, motion to strike, and motion for judgment on the pleadings.

  • A demurrer says essentially that even if everything in the pleading could be proved, the dispute still could not be resolved against the defendant.
  • A motion to strike says that the pleading contains words and charges that are not allowed to be there.
  • A motion for judgment on the pleadings says that the pleading itself constitutes an admission that the dispute must be resolved in favor of the defendant.

After hearing any such motion, the court usually grants the pleader one or more opportunities to submit a sufficient pleading. The motion can be renewed for each successive pleading. This phase ends when the tribunal declares that the pleading is sufficient or that no further opportunities will be given to submit an amended one. In the latter event, the entire dispute may be resolved in the defendant's favor, or the dispute over the pleading itself may be resolved by an order which eliminates parts of the pleading. Generally, a pleading motion is likely to result in victory for the defendant only when the motion reveals to the tribunal that an essential element of the case is incapable of being proved.

To learn more about the next phase in a case, see Discovery. If you are a plaintiff's attorney and you need pleadings, see Dog Bite Litigation Forms for Plaintiffs' Attorneys. There are pleadings on the Internet but they should be used by attorneys who know how to adapt them and know which can be used at all. See, for example, Demurrer to Answer (California). 

Options for you on this site

If you were bitten by a dog, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. It's done by email to protect your privacy. He will discuss your options without charge.

If you are a lawyer, tell him about your case and he will suggest solutions. He can spend an hour on the phone with you for strategizing, connecting you with experts, and sending you pleadings, discovery documents, motions and other materials. Or get a set of the same templates that he uses for dog bite cases all over the USA.

If your dog was injured or killed, get the self-help book he wrote to tell you how to make the guilty party reimburse you and compensate you for what you are going through.

Dog trainers and rescues, get the video of his seminar that comes with essential legal documents that will protect you and your business if you are injured or accused of being liable for an injury.

Landlords and property managers can protect themselves and their tenants from the consequences of vicious dogs on the rental premises by using the Lease Addendum: Pets written by Mr. Phillips.

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