Sometimes known as the “so what?” motion, the Defendant who files a Motion to Dismiss is saying that “even if everything you say is true, it still does not state a legal claim. It’s just a nothing-burger.”
Because of the financial, emotional, and logistical commitment of prosecuting a lawsuit in federal court, the last thing you want is to have your Complaint thrown out because you didn’t check all of the boxes required to survive a Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland or in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
It is important to understand the concept of “Circuit Splits” and the fact that there are different standards that may apply even to the same federal statutes among the different Federal Circuits. Don’t make the fatal mistake of applying the law of one Circuit to a Complaint filed in a different Circuit which does not follow the same precedent.
The lawyers at the Holland Law Firm accept referrals and act as co-counsel and local counsel to lawyers who want to make sure that their Complaint will pass the Motion to Dismiss test in the Fourth Circuit.
The starting point is that in order to survive a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain facts sufficient to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl., Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 684 (2009).
In considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court must accept all well-pled allegations in a complaint as true. Albright v. Oliver, 510 U.S. 266, 268 (1994). The court must construe all factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Harrison v. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., 176 F.3d 776, 783 (4th Cir. 1999) (citing Mylan Labs., Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir. 1993)).
A court may consider documents that are “explicitly incorporated into the complaint by reference and those attached to the complaint as exhibits….” Goines v. Valley Cmty. Servs. Bd., 822 F.3d 159, 166 (4th Cir. 2016).
However, the above standards are just the starting point because the Fourth Circuit may interpret a given federal statute differently than other Circuits.
Contact the Holland Law Firm to refer a case or to act as local counsel or co-counsel to make sure you get it right.
The road to beating a motion to dismiss starts with a strong Complaint. Contact us to discuss your case.