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A friend of mine was recently in Special Civil court where the Defendant submitted a 25 page motion to dismiss the case.

The judge read the motion (to himself, quietly) and announced that he does not agree with the motion. He gave less than a two minute explanation - addressing only a small fraction of the arguments raised in the motion and then proceeded to discuss the actual case.

Is a judge required to go through each argument separately and explain why it isn't valid? Is the party who filed the motion entitled to a clear and thorough understanding as to what grounds the motion is being rejected?

If the party who filed the motion isn't aware on what grounds the judge dismissed the motion, how can they file an appeal?

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  • Rues for such things vary by jurisdiction, in particular by country, but within the US might vary by state. Do you have a particular jurisdiction in mind?
    – David Siegel
    Commented Dec 13, 2022 at 23:03
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    @DavidSiegel NJ
    – S.O.S
    Commented Dec 13, 2022 at 23:13

1 Answer 1

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Denial of a motion to dismiss is not an appealable order. Likewise, denial of a motion for summary judgment cannot be appealed except in rare cases where it deals with a privilege against being sued like qualified or absolute immunity from suit.

If an order can be appealed, it can be reversed on appeal if the trial court did not provide an adequate basis to justify its ruling.

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  • Interesting. Thanks for your insight. Said motion was filed as a motion to dismiss the case and compel arbitration. In a recent question I discuss the option of filing a complaint to compel arbitration instead of a motion to compel. I raised the question of whether there is any legal benefit to using one venue over the other (motion vs. complaint). Based on the response you provided here...
    – S.O.S
    Commented Dec 13, 2022 at 23:24
  • ..it seems like a natural conclusion that filing a complaint to compel arbitration provides at least one practical legal benefit - which is that if the complaint is dismissed it can be appealed and the party filling the complaint is entitled to receive a clear explanation as to why it was rejected? Would you concur?
    – S.O.S
    Commented Dec 13, 2022 at 23:24
  • @S.O.S. If a court compels arbitration, due to a special arbitration specific rule not followed in other kinds of cases, that ruling can't be appealed until the arbitration is completed.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Dec 13, 2022 at 23:27
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    @S.O.S. the Washington State statue which is typical of the Uniform Act is here: app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=7.04A.280 (1) An appeal may be taken from: (a) An order denying a motion to compel arbitration; (b) An order granting a motion to stay arbitration; (c) An order confirming or denying confirmation of an award; (d) An order modifying or correcting an award; (e) An order vacating an award without directing a rehearing; or (f) A final judgment entered under this chapter. (2) An appeal under this section must be taken as from an order or a judgment in a civil action.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Dec 14, 2022 at 1:37
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    @S.O.S. "an appeal may be taken from" means that the order is appealable. the rules on when arbitration rulings may be appealed are an exception to the general rule.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Dec 14, 2022 at 2:09

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