Motion to dismiss massachusetts sample professional#

Lack of jurisdiction over the subject matterįorum non conveniens (meaning it is more appropriate for another court to hear the case), and Some of the more common motions to dismiss are for: There are many grounds or reasons allowed in the Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss a new lawsuit before the case even gets going. Insufficiently served lawsuits can be dismissed under this rule even if the defendant knew of the existence of the lawsuit through some manner. But unless the court extends the time for service, the failure to timely serve under Rule 4(m) is grounds for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(5) for insufficient service of process.

For example, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 4(m) states, “If a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court-on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff-must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant.” However, if the plaintiff can show “good cause” as to why service of process was not completed within the time frame, the court can extend the time for service and exercise its discretion to extend the time for service for other valid reasons, as well. In some instances, the lawsuit can be dismissed even without a motion from the defendant. The defendant could potentially file a Motion to Dismiss for Insufficient Service of Process.

Motion to dismiss massachusetts sample professional#

If a legal professional or paralegal did not know that rule, and they had a notice and complaint served upon a defendant in some manner on a Sunday, then that service would be null and void and would not count. For example, some states have a rule that service of process a summons or notice and a complaint cannot be performed on a Sunday. Most states' rules are very similar, but some states have particular quirks in some of their service of process rules that are different from most states. Even the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have their own service of process rules that cover federal lawsuits. Service of Process RulesĮvery state has their own rules regarding how legal papers, including new lawsuits, are to be served upon a defendant or an opposing party. But this can be avoided by using an experienced professional service of process agency who understands the rules and can get the job done correctly and on time. However, the worst case scenario is that if the defendant is successful with their motion to dismiss and the statute of limitations has run, then the summons and complaint cannot be refiled and the client is out of luck, all because the legal professional did not understand the rules. If this happens, and the defendant is successful, then the plaintiff has to start all over again with re-filing the summons and complaint, costing the client more time and money. If service of process is not done properly, then the defendant can file what is called a Motion to Dismiss for Insufficient Service of Process. If a legal professional such as a lawyer or paralegal does not understand the service of process rules in their state (or the rules of service to out of state defendants) then mistakes could happen and jeopardize the lawsuit. If you need a summons and complaint or some other legal papers served on time and correctly, your best course of action is to hire a professional process server. One of the main arguments for using a professional service of process agency to serve your legal papers is that mistakes do not happen.