Defense lawyers who feel their opponents' cases have been filed under an improper damages assertion in District or Superior court will soon have a mechanism to dismiss the case under recently approved amendments to the state Rules of Civil Procedure.
Last week, the Supreme Judicial Court released a number of changes to the rules that are aimed at bringing them in line with the statewide one-trial system (see Notices from the Court). The amended rules go into effect on March 1 and will affect all new cases as well as pending cases filed on or before Aug. 31, 2004.
Among the most significant changes is the newly created Rule 12(b)(10) — a motion to dismiss that can be filed in either Superior or District court if the moving party believes the plaintiff's case is unlikely to meet the $25,000 procedural threshold.
"If you're in Superior Court, you can move to dismiss a $10,000 case," said Marc G. Perlin, the associate dean and professor at Suffolk University Law School who authored the official Reporter's Notes for the new rules. "Conversely, if it is a District Court case, and the plaintiff thinks it is a $50,000 case, the defendant can move to dismiss."
The rule comes in the wake of the SJC's September ruling in Sperounes v. Farese, in which the court determined that trial judges have no discretion when it comes to denying motions to dismiss if "a party makes a timely objection and the judge is satisfied that there is no reasonable likelihood that recovery by the plaintiff will not exceed $25,000."
The court added that if the defendant does not object, the judge can either dismiss the action or permit it.
Prior to this rule change, Perlin said, it was unclear whether the issue of the $25,000 limit could be raised by motion, or whether it could only be raised in the answer to the complaint. "This avoids the need to do it in the answer," he explained.
Highlighting another of the SJC's amendments to the rules, Perlin cited changes to Rule 52 as important, since it will require all District Court and Boston Municipal Court judges to write findings of facts and rulings of law as long as a party has submitted proposed findings and rulings before the start of closing arguments.
Currently, a provision of the rules allows a party in District Court to file a request for a ruling of law, but it does not require the court to make such a ruling. That rule, 64A, will be repealed under the new amendments.
-- Noah Schaffer
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