California motion to strike complaint

A California motion to strike a complaint or portions of a complaint is the topic of this blog post.   

A motion to strike may request that an entire complaint or certain specified portions be stricken.

In the State of California a motion to strike may be filed to strike any irrelevant matter inserted in any pleading, and to strike any pleading or part thereof not drawn in conformity with the laws of this state. See Code of Civil Procedure § 436.

A California Court of Appeal has ruled that if a claim of right appears on the face of a complaint which is legally invalid that the complaint is subject to a motion to strike.

For instance if a complaint requests attorney fees, yet the complaint fails to allege a contractual or statutory basis which entitles the plaintiff to recover attorney fees then the request for attorneys fees is subject to a motion to strike. And if the complaint requests any other relief to which plaintiff is not entitled to, that portion of the complaint is also subject to a motion to strike.

As with a demurrer no extrinsic evidence can be considered in ruling on a motion to strike unless the extrinsic evidence is subject to judicial notice.

A defendant cannot base a motion to strike on affidavits, declarations, or matters outside the four corners of the pleading containing extrinsic evidence that allegations in the complaint are false or a sham; such challenges only lie on the face of the complaint.

Although older cases recognized that a complaint cannot generally allege entitlement to punitive damages this is no longer the case in California.

The issue of whether or not to file a motion to strike should only be made after legal research on whether plaintiff is requesting relief to which they are not entitled, or if the complaint contains irrelevant matter. If so, then a motion to strike should be filed.

Attorneys or parties in California who wish to view a portion of a sample motion to strike to a complaint containing a memorandum of points and authorities with citations to case law and statutory authority and proof of service by mail sold by the author can use the link shown below.

Sample motion to strike for California

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is an entrepreneur and freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation.

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DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.