Are you serving as personal representative in West Palm Beach over an estate that has turned into a family feud? Are beneficiaries filing frivolous lawsuits and wasting your (and the West Palm Beach probate court’s) time? Procedures exist to prevent wastes of the court’s time. Do you know how to file for summary judgment? Do you know how to motion to dismiss a frivolous claim? Avoid the trial, avoid the costs, get the results quickly. Learn how by reading below.
Motion to Dismiss
- The Palm Beach litigator’s first defense against a frivolous case is the motion to dismiss.
- Do you know how to file one?
- A motion to dismiss essentially says “so what?” to the plaintiff.
- In other words, if everything the plaintiff says is true he still has not plead a cause of action that the court can grant him relief for.
- Does that make sense?
- You are not conceding the facts are true but saying even if they were the plaintiff is not entitled to relief.
- So what happens if that is denied?
- You may have to try the motion for summary judgment
Motion for Summary Judgment
- A motion for summary judgment may be your final important motion before trial.
- Palm Beach probate litigators use these motions to show that there is not a dispute on the facts.
- Why does that matter?
- When there are no facts to be settled, there is no need for a jury.
- Lawyers call this “being entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
- If a motion for summary judgment is granted the court will offer judgment following a brief of the evidence, without a jury.
- This is a great way to dispose of ridiculous claims if you cannot do so with a motion to dismiss.
- Are you prepared to use motion practice to win a trial before it starts?
- Check out how a hospital did that in this case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeals.
Rustowicz v. North Broward Hospital / Broward Health
- In this case the plaintiff had lost on a motion for summary judgment from the hospital defendant.
- Since this was a final order it was appealable.
- This was a whistle blower action, where the plaintiff claimed that she had been fired as retaliation but the facts on record did not appeal to prove her claim.
- Was the court to hasty in making its decision to avoid trial?
- That’s what the appeals court said.
- Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know that winning these motions is only cost effective if you can avoid a loss on appeal other wise its pointless and just adds costs.
Want to learn more?
Check out this entire case by clicking here.