Case Dismissal Explained
Dismissal is a term applied in the legal sense to refer to the termination or dismissal of a court proceeding by the judge. Many different reasons can trigger case dismissals, such as a ruling issued by the judge, a settlement by the parties or a successful motion by one of the parties. Depending on the purpose or reason for the dismissal, the proceedings might be terminated with prejudice or without prejudice. Without prejudice refers to the fact that the dismissal is temporary and the case can be re-filed in court at a later date. With prejudice dismissal usually occurs after the court has received a motion to dismiss from one of the parties and typically directs that the case cannot be re-filed in court, effectively terminating the proceeding .
For defendants, either type of dismissal generally means the litigation is over. When a case is dismissed with prejudice, the plaintiff as a party has many implications, such as triggering a time deadline to refile the case within a specific time limit. If the court simply ruled to dismiss the case without prejudice, the litigation has ended but there is no timeline to which the plaintiff will need to adhere to pursue their claim at a later date. The plaintiff does have the option to resubmit the lawsuit to the court without any time limitation if the dismissal is without prejudice.
Reasons Why Cases Get Dismissed
Statistics show that the majority of criminal and civil cases filed with the courts around the country are dismissed before reaching trial. In most cases, there is a reasonable cause for the court to dismiss the action. However, in cases where the court dismisses the case in error, or for some other reason, you may still be able to reopen your case even after it has been dismissed.
Following are some of the most common reasons for having a court case dismissed:
Lack of Evidence – in order to move forward with a criminal or civil case, evidence must be presented that’s strong enough to persuade the judge. In cases where there’s insufficient evidence, the court may dismiss the case.
No Jurisdiction – in cases where the court does not have jurisdiction over a case, they are unable to make a decision. That’s because the court cannot make a legal ruling on a matter if they aren’t granted jurisdiction from the state or government.
Procedural Errors – sometimes, a court may not have followed proper procedure when dismissing your case. The court appoints a judge to weigh in on an issue only to find that the judge failed to consider important facts.
Settlements – typically, the court dismisses a case if the parties involved come to an agreement amongst themselves. In other words, the judge will dismiss a case if the parties settle amongst themselves.
Reinstating a Dismissed Case
Turning to when you can reopen a case, once your case is dismissed, you need legal grounds to reopen your case with the court. If the case was dismissed with prejudice, you generally cannot reopen it. However, if there are circumstances that create an exception, you may be able to reopen it. You need to show that you have a very good reason for not complying with the court’s rules.
If the case was dismissed without prejudice, you can reopen it. Even in dismissed cases, there are some court rules you must comply with. Otherwise, your case may not be reopened. If one of these problems happens, the court will dismiss or strike your case:
If that happens, you must file a motion requesting the court to reinstate your case. In this motion, you can explain why you did not comply with the rule and what you now intend to do to comply with it.
Also keep in mind that even in cases that are dismissed without prejudice, like in many negligence cases, you do have time limits within which your accident-related case must be filed with the court.
How to Legally Reopen Your Case
If an individual wishes to have their dismissed case reopened, they must first explore the procedures available.
As with most legal processes, the opportunity for redress may be available through the particular mechanism in place, usually through the appeal process or a newly discovered piece of evidence.
An individual may find it in their best interests to consult an experienced legal professional to determine which of the below causes of action would be most beneficial for his or her case.
Appeal – Generally, the appellate courts allow motion for rehearing and/or rehearing en banc. Rehearing is an opportunity for the court to reconsider the application of law and any additional evidence provided by the appellant. When a rehearing en banc is granted, the full bench of judges will vacate any previous orders and rehear the issues together.
A rehearing rarely occurs, but is granted when a majority of the en banc court feels that a panel was clearly and demonstrably wrong. The en banc court will also use its discretion to hear cases that affect the law in the state to provide greater uniformity or fairness.
Error – If the dismissal is based on an error of law or procedure, the aggrieved party may seek rehearing through a writ of error. A writ of error is used to correct any egregious errors, such as the exclusion of evidence or testimony that substantially and significantly affects the final outcome of the case.
Any error that is based on the exclusion of evidence will only be granted if the courts are convinced many material facts are missing due to the error, and thus would result in a different outcome.
Newly Discovered Evidence – A relief from judgment may be filed if newly discovered evidence would likely alter the case’s outcome if a new trial were heard. For example, if a plaintiff was fraudulently suppressed by the defendant on the existence of a contract, a judgment may be vacated because the contract was ultimately the most compelling piece of evidence.
A motion for a new trial may be filed if the court decides that a new trial should be held due to unfair juror behavior or failure to disclose relevant information, a juror’s duty to act fairly and impartially to arrive at a verdict and immediate availability for jury duty.
In both instances, it is important that the new evidence presented is "new" and not previously available to the aggrieved party. Further, there needs to be a strong possibility that the new evidence could alter the outcome of the matter.
Procedural Reconsideration – A motion for new trial may be filed if punitive damages were awarded and the amount of the award is contested. In order for a court to consider reducing a punitive damage award, the party contesting the award must prove that the award is so disproportionate to the actual harm caused that it is unconstitutional in its due process or violates the Texas Constitution. However, an erroneous exclusion of evidence may be used to challenge a punitive damages award if the plaintiff is unfairly prevented from fully presenting the case against the defendant.
A motion for new trial regarding jury selection may be filed if a party feels that the commission or omission of a juror prevented the party from a fair trial.
If a motion for new trial is granted, the parties will be given the opportunity of hearing the case again, to be retried before a jury.
Difficulties in Reopening Cases
Attempting to reopen a case can be challenging.
Costs
If a plaintiff did not win the case in the first instance, he is going to be out of pocket for the cost of his own and the defendant’s legal expenses because he was not successful. If the matter is reopened, not only will the plaintiff be out of pocket for his costs again, but also the defendant’s costs and the court costs. It is typical that if a defendant wins, he gets his costs from the plaintiff where there is no ‘costs order’ made and either party wins.
Legal Limitation Periods
There are legal limitation periods for bringing a civil claim. It is necessary to have a reason to apply to have the time period extended before bringing a claim. This is good defence for an action and , therefore, it is critical that a plaintiff check all applicable limitation of action periods before commencing or reopening an action.
Burden of Proof
There are strict rules regarding burden of proof where a plaintiff must prove the allegations of any criminal or civil offence or the assumption of the damage as a result of a breach of duty or contract against the plaintiff. In bringing a claim, the plaintiff also has the onus of bringing evidence not only to establish a substantive matter of the claim but also the claim in full. This may take substantial evidence against the balancing defence of a defendant.
Seeking Expert Legal Help
While filing a motion is something you can technically do on your own, working with a knowledgeable attorney can certainly help. Especially in California, dealing with the many levels of the court system can be arduous and time-consuming, as we mentioned earlier in this entry. Working with a lawyer who has in-depth experience with the court system and the workings of the law can help you improve your chances of beating a dismissal. An attorney can file the proper paperwork on your behalf, check in with the court on various dates, and ensure that no important steps within the process fall through the cracks. They are also more likely to have experience with other motions, such as a motion for reconsideration or a motion to set aside a judgment, that might be filed in conjunction with the motion for relief or alternatives if the motion to reopen a case is denied. Meeting with your lawyer as soon as you find out about the dismissal of your case gives you and your attorney the greatest chance of rectifying the situation.
Case Reopenings That Worked
Even though many dismissed cases have a low chance of bringing about a desired outcome upon requesting to overturn the dismissal, sometimes the cases do not follow this rule. For instance, there are many cases that have been reopened and may help inspire applicants to jump on that opportunity. For example, in the case of Williams v. Barnstable School Committee, the Supreme Court of the United States considered whether a plaintiff could pursue a Title IX claim after the plaintiff settled a parallel Equal Protection claim. The lower court had dismissed the plaintiff’s Title IX claim, but the Court reversed the decision to allow the case to proceed. In that case, the plaintiffs had claimed that the school failed to address complaints of sexual harassment by a teacher against a student. The case was originally dismissed by the judge, then reinstated upon appeal. Subsequently, it was dismissed again, but then reversed by the Supreme Court and sent back to the lower court. Another successful case involved a plaintiff with a bad faith claim against an insurance company. The case involved an auto accident and the insurance carrier allegedly ignoring the insureds interests because they were concerned with being sued for an excess judgment. The court dismissed the case because the plaintiff had made too many mistakes that indicated the case needed to be dismissed , but did not find the errors caused by bad faith from the insurance agency. The plaintiff was able to allege new theories and facts, and the Court agreed that the case should be reopened. In these, and many other cases like them, the plaintiffs had strong legal arguments, were prepared and analyzed the evidence carefully before presenting in Court. Another thing that contributed to the success of their requests to reopen the cases was their willingness to work with their attorney to consider other legal approaches if the initial arguments did not succeed. What these examples teach is that often it is not necessary to completely abandon the case when asked by the Court to reargue the case. In fact, the Court may not even need a full reargument. Even if a case favorable to the defendant wins a dismissal, it doesn’t mean that it is time to close the book on the matter. Instead, it means it is far from over. It just often takes different arguments and an open mind to turn a dismissed case into a successful one.