17. Which motion or pleading should the man's attorney file?

Motions are typically contained in papers that separate from the pleadings. They can be heard and/or decided separately from the merits of the case, or on certain occasions, heard at the time of trial, and disposed of at that point. Certain defenses may be raised either in the answer or by motion. These defenses are known as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 12(b) defenses. They are directed solely at the pleading and must be decided solely by reference to them.

The defenses that may be asserted in a pre-answer Rule 12 motion to dismiss under the FRCP include:

lack of subject-matter jurisdiction;lack of personal jurisdiction;improper venue;insufficient process;insufficient service of process;failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; andfailure to join a necessary party under FRCP 19.If the defendant believes that the plaintiff's complaint does not state a legally sufficient claim, the defendant can make an FRCP 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the motion to be successful, it must demonstrate that even if every fact asserted in the complaint is taken as true, no recovery is plausible under any legal theory.

Later in the lifecycle of a federal case, either party may make a number of motions to adjudicate the dispute in their favor without a trial. If one party can show there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact in the lawsuit, and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, he can be awarded judgment through an FRCP 56 motion for summary judgment. The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of producing proof that clearly establishes there is no factual dispute for a jury to resolve.

The movant (the person seeking summary judgment) may show the lack of a genuine issue of fact by submitting affidavits. They must only contain matters as to which the affiant has personal knowledge, must state only matters which would be admissible at trial, and must show the affiant is competent to testify at trial. The movant may also submit the fruits of discovery, regardless of which side they were obtained from in support of the motion.

The court will go «behind the pleadings» in deciding a motion for summary judgment, meaning that even if it appears from the pleadings that the parties are in dispute on some material fact, the summary judgment motion should be granted if the movant can show that the disputed factual issues presented by the pleadings are illusory.

If the case reaches a jury, either party may move for a judgment as a matter of law, which has the effect of taking the case away from the jury and determining the outcome as a matter of law. FRCP 50(a)(1) states that if a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue, the court may resolve the issue against the party and grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against the party, on a claim or defense that under the controlling law can be maintained or defeated only with a favorable finding on that issue.

A is correct. The man has a valid defense to the woman's complaint, but it may not be asserted under any FRCP 12(b) defense. The man has a factual defense, which means he must first file an answer and then move for FRCP 56 summary judgment. He may utilize the canceled checks in support of his summary judgment motion by filing an affidavit attesting to the canceled checks.

B is incorrect. There is nothing in the facts to suggest that the woman did not have a valid claim. The standard for dismissal for a failure to state a claim requires that even if every fact in the complaint were true, recovery is still not plausible under any legal theory.

C is incorrect. If a defendant responds to a complaint with a summary judgment motion rather than an FRCP 12 motion or an answer, the court may consider the defendant to have failed to timely answer and therefore to have admitted all of the complaint's allegations. In opposing summary judgment, the plaintiff may use any admitted complaint allegations as admissible evidence. Thus, an early motion for summary judgment should be made soon after the movant has filed a responsive pleading.

D is incorrect. This is not the correct timing for judgment as a matter of law. A party may move for a judgment as a matter of law if the case reaches trial. In this question, the parties are nowhere close to a trial, so the man's attorneys should not move for a judgment as a matter of law.