What are the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Motions?
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) are the provisions that govern the conduct of civil litigation in the U.S. federal district court system. Motions are a significant component of the FRCP, since they allow litigants to request specific relief in terms of how the case will ultimately proceed prior to trial. Motion practice encompasses all aspects of procedure, from attempting to get a complaint dismissed at the outset of litigation to compelling a party to comply with discovery requests.
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What is a Motion?
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A motion is an application or request a party makes to the court for a specific kind of relief as it relates to the procedural aspects of the litigation. Either a defendant or a plaintiff can file a motion at any time period allowable by the FRCP during the pendency of litigation. A motion must be in writing and must state the grounds on which relief should be granted.
The FRCP lists all allowable motions by number as well as the requisite standards a party seeking relief must meet before the motion is granted.
Types of Motions
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The preponderance of motions filed by parties pursuant to the FRCP occurs during the pre-trial phase of litigation. Examples include a motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; a motion to add necessary parties to the case for a just adjudication; and a motion to compel a recalcitrant party to comply with the discovery rules including an order compelling production of relevant documents.
Parties to litigation use motion practice extensively, both as a means to shape the outcome of the litigation prior to trial, as well as to improve their bargaining position for purposes of settlement.
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Procedures Governing Motions
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The FRCP proscribes the manner in which motions are filed. In general, a party filing a motion must serve it upon the opposing party within a specified period of time and attach a brief. Since a considerable body of law has evolved concerning the circumstances under which particular motions should be granted, both the moving and the opposing party must file legal briefs, or Memorandum of Law, with citation to the applicable case law that supports their respective positions as to why the motion should be granted or denied.
The moving party requests a hearing date and the court schedules an oral argument on the matter. After a hearing, the court issues its ruling in writing that includes the reason for its decision.
Motion Practice at the Local Federal District Court Level
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Each local federal district court is authorized to issue its own rules as they relate to motion practice. Local rules may include the permissible length of legal briefs, the time periods for filing specific motions, as well as the manner in which hearings are scheduled.
Appealing an Adverse Ruling
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A party who receives an adverse ruling on a motion may appeal the matter to the appropriate U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pursuant to the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
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