What is the major difference between a motion to dismiss and a summary judgment motion?
The most common motion to dismiss is a “Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can be Granted.” This is true in Federal court cases and most states (some states like California use something else called a Demurrer which works pretty much the same way. The essence of this motion is that the person making it (usually the defendant in a civil case) says to the court – if we hypothesize that everything the plaintiff says is true actually is true, there is still no case. For example in a negligence case you need to show that the plaintiff was harmed by the negligent action that was cause and proximately caused by the defendant. If the plaintiff’s pleading doesn’t show any harm or any negligence or any causation, then that is grounds for dismissal. In essence any motion to dismiss is asking the court just to drop the case because something critical to the process wasn’t said or done. In most cases after a motion to dismiss is granted, the party against whom it was g
