A Motion to Strike is a request for a judge’s order to remove, eliminate or make immaterial a specific or entire portion of the opponent’s legal pleading. The grounds for such a motion to strike is to be determined under The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(f). It states that the court on its own or by motion of either party, shall strike from a pleading “any redundant, immaterial, impertinent or scandalous matter” to avoid wasting “time and money litigating spurious issues.” Thus, judges are empowered under the above provision to strike, from a pleading, an insufficient defence or redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous matter.
A motion to strike is often used in an attempt to have an entire cause of action stricken from the record. This is usually done in writing. It can also be made orally during the course of a courtroom trial to ask the judge to order that the answers made by a witness in violation of rules of evidence be stricken from the record. If the motion is accepted, the jury must ignore those stricken parts. During the pleading stage, a motion to strike is often used as an attempt to have an entire cause of action stricken from the record. This is usually done in writing. At the trial stage, this motion is made orally to ask the judge to order that the answers made by a witness in violation of rules of evidence be stricken from the record. If the motion is accepted, the jury must ignore those stricken parts.
It is to be noted that motions, affidavits, briefs, and other documents outside of the pleadings are not subject to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(f). Thus, expert testimony report cannot be struck down under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(f). Courts have also rejected defendants’ using this as a novel approach to opposing class certification — a motion to strike the certification motion. However, several courts have relied on Rule 12(f) to strike class allegations. In some jurisdictions, a motion to strike or a “demurrer” is the equivalent to a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. In other jurisdictions, a successful motion to strike will remove certain allegations from the complaint, counterclaim or cross claim.
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