Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I am a defendant I want to request a motion to dismiss with prejudice. what is my legal pres. I have filled out the form do I need to provide more information
4 Answers from Attorneys
I assume you mean you have filled out the Judicial Council form Request for Dismissal. Did you happen to notice who has to sign it? That would be the plaintiff. Is the plaintiff going to sign it for you? If so, you need nothing else. If not, you need a lawyer immediately before you get yourself in a really big mess by not understanding what you are doing.
I agree with Mr. McCormick if his assumption is correct. If you are a defendant in a civil lawsuit in a California Superior Court (not federal), there is no 'form' I'm aware of that allows you to request that the case be dismissed with prejudice.
There are very few ways of attempting to get the case "dismissed" if you are in the very beginning stages of the case, but this is not easy to do. In fact, most lawyers cannot even accomplish that result.
If you have not answered the complaint yet, you should seek legal advice ASAP, or else the plaintiff could get a default judgment against you.
There is no form for a motion to dismiss. There is a form for a request for dismissal, which is when a plaintiff, or a cross-complainant, requests dismissal of their case. But you can't request dismissal of someone else's case.
A motion to dismiss is different than a voluntary request for dismissal. It is prepared on pleading paper, and must state the grounds for the dismissal and be in proper format. You don't provide any information as to why it should be dismissed.
There are no 'forms' for a motion to dismiss. It is a custom drafted pleading that has to contain a discussion of the legal grounds, facts, applicable law, points and authorities, argument, persuasion, etc. You need to either study and learn the proper procedures, or hire counsel to do it right. You only get one shot at such motion.