A motion to strike is a request to a judge that part of a party's pleading or a piece of evidence be removed from the record. During the pleading stage, this can be accomplished by a tool such as Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a state equivalent.
A motion to dismiss asks the court to dismiss either whole or part of a complaint, counterclaim, or crossclaim. Motion to strike or "Demurrer": 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.
Rule 23 also imposes a responsibility on trial courts. Courts must conduct a “rigorous analysis” of the claims, defenses, issues, and evidence to determine whether the proof relevant to each element of a plaintiff's claims—and any affirmative defenses—is individualized or common.
A motion to strike is a legal request made to a court to remove certain parts of the opposing party's pleadings. This can include irrelevant, redundant, or legally insufficient material from a complaint, answer, or other legal documents.
One of the key provisions of the FRCP is Rule 23. This rule governs how class actions are handled. FRCP 23 requires “class certification” for a case to proceed to class action litigation. This means that a judge must “certify” that the case is the right kind of case to move forward as a class action.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that "The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Similarly, for example, the California Code of Civil Procedure provides that a motion to strike may be made to strike out any "irrelevant, ...
Courts often read Rule 23 and Rule 12(f) together to conclude that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorize early motions to strike class allegations. Rule 23(a) lays out the requirements for a plaintiff to certify a class: numerosity, adequacy, typicality, and commonality.
(1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of an action brought as a class action, the court shall determine by order whether it is to be so maintained. An order under this subdivision may be conditional, and may be altered or amended before the decision on the merits.
What happens next? If we filed the motion to strike in a trial court, then we will set the motion to be heard by a judge or magistrate, and be ruled upon. If we filed it in an appeals court, the appeals court will read the motion and offending document and will rule on it without hearing.