Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Motion
1. A written or oral application requesting a court to make a specified ruling or order. 2. A proposal made under formal parliamentary procedure.
admission on motion
Permanent admission of a lawyer who is in good standing in the bar of a different state without the need for a full bar examination.
amendment on court's own motion
a change to a pleading or other document by the judge without a motion from a party.
amotion
1. a turning out, as the eviction of a tenant or the removal of a person from office. 2. the common-law procedure available to shareholders to remove a corporate director for cause. 3. the wrongful moving or carrying away of another's personal property.
calendar motion
A motion relating to the time of court appearances. ( Examples include motions to continue, motions to advance, and motions to reset.
civil commotion
A public uprising by a large number of people who, acting together, cause harm to people or property. ( A civil commotion usu. involves many more people than a riot. Cf. RIOT.
contradictory motion
See MOTION.
contradictory motion. Civil law.
A motion that is likely to be contested or that the nonmoving side should have an opportunity to contest.
dilatory motion
1. A motion made solely for the purpose of delay. 2. A motion that has the effect of delaying the proceedings.
dilatory motion.
See MOTION.
emotional distress
A highly unpleasant mental reaction (such as anguish, grief, fright, humiliation, or fury) that results from another person's conduct; emotional pain and suffering. Emotional distress, when severe enough, can form a basis for the recovery of tort damages. - Also termed emotional harm; mental anguish; mental distress; mental suffering. See INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. "Emotional distress passes under various names, such as mental suffering, mental anguish, mental or nervous shock, or the like. It includes all highly unpleasant mental reactions, such as fright, horror, grief, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, anger, ch
emotional insanity
Insanity produced by a violent excitement of the emotions or passions, although reasoning faculties may remain unimpaired; a passion that for a period creates complete derangement of intellect. ( Emotional insanity is sometimes described as an irresistible impulse to do an act. See IRRESISTIBLE-IMPULSE TEST.
ex parte motion
A motion made to the court without notice to the adverse party; a motion that a court considers and rules on after hearing from fewer than all sides.
gesture. A motion
., of the body calculated to express a thought or emphasize a certain point <the prosecutor was known for her dramatic gestures during closing argument>.
infliction of emotional distress.
See INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The tort of intentionally or recklessly causing another person severe emotional distress through one's extreme or outrageous acts. 0 In a few jurisdictions, a physical manifestation of the mental suffering is required for the plaintiff to recover. - Also termed (in some states) outrage. See EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. Cf. NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
motion for a more definite statement
See MOTION FOR MORE DEFINITE STATEMENT.
motion for a new trial
See MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL.
motion for a protective order
See MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER.
motion for a repleader
Common-law pleading. An unsuccessful party's posttrial motion asking that the pleadings begin anew because the issue was joined on an immaterial point. ( The court never awards a repleader to the party who tendered the immaterial issue.
motion for directed verdict
A party's request that the court enter judgment in its favor before submitting the case to the jury because there is no legally sufficient evidentiary foundation on which a reasonable jury could find for the other party. ( Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the equivalent court paper is known as a motion for judgment as a matter of law. - Also termed motion for a directed verdict. - Abbr. MDV. See MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW; directed verdict under VERDICT.
motion for j.n.o.v.
See MOTION FOR JUDGMENT NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT.
motion for judgment as a matter of law.
A party's request that the court enter a judgment in its favor before the case is submitted to the jury, or after a contrary jury verdict, because there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis on which a jury could find for the other party. ( Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may move for judgment as a matter of law anytime before the case has been submitted to the jury. This kind of motion was formerly known as a motion for directed verdict (and still is in many jurisdictions). If the motion is denied and the case is submitted to the jury, resulting in an unfavorable verdict, the motion may be renewed within ten days after entry of the judgment. This aspect of the motion replaces the court paper formerly known as a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Fed. R. Civ. P. 50.
motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict
A party's request that the court enter a judgment in its favor despite the jury's contrary verdict because there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a jury to find for the other party. ( Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this procedure has been replaced by the provision for a motion for judgment as a matter of law, which must be presented before the case has been submitted to the jury but can be reasserted if it is denied and the jury returns an unfavorable verdict. Fed. R. Civ. P. 50. - Also termed motion for j.n.o.v. See MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW.
motion for judgment of acquittal
A criminal defendant's request, at the close of the government's case or the close of all evidence, to be acquitted because there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis on which a reasonable jury could return a guilty verdict. 9 If the motion is granted, the government has no right of appeal. - Abbr. MJOA.
motion for judgment on the pleadings
A party's request that the court rule in its favor based on the pleadings on file, without accepting evidence, as when the outcome of the case rests on the court's interpretation of the law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c).
motion for leave to appeal
A request that an appellate court review an interlocutory order that meets the standards of the collateral-order doctrine. - Abbr. MLA. See COLLATERAL-ORDER DOCTRINE.
motion for more definite statement
A party's request that the court require an opponent to amend a vague or ambiguous pleading to which the party cannot reasonably be required to respond. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e). - Also termed motion for a more definite statement
motion for new trial
A party's post judgment request that the court vacate the judgment and order a new trial for such reasons as factually insufficient evidence, newly discovered evidence, or jury misconduct. ( In many jurisdictions, this motion is required before a party can raise such matters on appeal. - Also termed motion for a new trial.
motion for protective order
A party's request that the court protect it from potentially abusive action by the other party, usu. relating to discovery, as when one party seeks discovery of the other party's trade secrets. ( A court will sometimes craft a protective order to protect one party's trade secrets by ordering that any secret information exchanged in discovery be used only for purposes of the pending suit and not be publicized. - Also termed motion for a protective order.
motion for relief from stay
See MOTION To LIFT THE STAY.
motion for relief from the judgment
A party's request that the court correct a clerical mistake in the judgment - that is, a mistake that results in the judgment's incorrectly reflecting the court's intentions - or to relieve the party from the judgment because of such matters as (1) inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, (2) newly discovered evidence that could not have been discovered through diligence in time for a motion for new trial, (3) the judgment's being the result of fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the other party, or (4) the judgment's being void or having been satisfied or released. Fed. R. Civ. P. 60. Cf. MOTION TO ALTER OR AMEND THE JUDGMENT.
motion for summary judgment1
A request that the court enter judgment without a trial because there is no genuine issue of material fact to be decided by a fact-finder - that is, because the evidence is legally insufficient to support a verdict in the nonmovant's favor. ( In federal court and in most state courts, the movant-defendant must point out in its motion the absence of evidence on an essential element of the plaintiff's claim, after which the burden shifts to the nonmovant-plaintiff to produce evidence raising a genuine fact issue. But if a party moves for summary judgment on its own claim or defense, then it must establish each element of the claim or defense as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. 56. - Abbr. MSJ. - Also termed summary judgment motion; motion for summary disposition. See SUMMARY JUDGMENT.
motion in arrest of judgment
1. A defendant's motion claiming that a substantial error appearing on the face of the record vitiates the whole proceeding and the judgment. 2. A postjudgment motion in a criminal case claiming that the indictment is insufficient to sustain a judgment or the verdict is somehow insufficient.
motion in limine
A pretrial request that certain inadmissible evidence not be referred to or offered at trial. ( Typically, a party makes this motion when it believes that mere mention of the evidence during trial would be highly prejudicial and could not be remedied by an instruction to disregard. If, after the motion is granted, the opposing party mentions or attempts to offer the evidence in the jury's presence, a mistrial may be ordered. A ruling on a motion in limine does not preserve evidentiary error for appellate purposes. Instead, to raise such an error on appeal, a party must have formally objected when the evidence was actually admitted or excluded during trial.
motion to alter or amend the judgment
A party's request that the court correct a substantive error in the judgment, such as a manifest error of law or fact. ( Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a motion to alter or amend the judgment must be filed within ten days after the judgment is entered. It should not ordinarily be used to correct clerical errors in a judgment. Those types of errors - that is, errors that result in the judgment not reflecting the court's intention - may be brought in a motion for relief from the judgment, which does not have the ten-day deadline. A motion to alter or amend the judgment is usu. directed to substantive issues regarding the judgment, such as an intervening change in the law or newly discovered evidence that was not available at trial. Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e). Cf. MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM THE JUDGMENT.
motion to compel discovery
A party's request that the court force the party's opponent to respond to the party's discovery request (as to answer interrogatories or produce documents). Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(x). - Often shortened to motion to compel. - Also termed motion to enforce discovery.
motion to dismiss
A request that the court dismiss the case because of settlement, voluntary withdrawal, or a procedural defect. ( Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss the case (under Rule 41(x)) or the defendant may ask the court to dismiss the case, usu. based on one of the defenses listed in Rule 12(b). These defense include lack of personal or subject-matter jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficiency of process, the plaintiffs failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted, and the failure to join an indispensable party. A defendant will frequently file a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, which is governed by Rule 12(b)(6), claiming that even if all the plaintiff's allegations are true, they would not be legally sufficient to state a claim on which relief might be granted. - Abbr. MTD.
motion to enforce discovery
See MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY.
motion to lift the stay
Bankruptcy. A party's request that the bankruptcy court alter the automatic bankruptcy stay to allow the movant to act against the debtor or the debtor's property, as when a creditor seeks permission to foreclose on a lien because its security interest is not adequately protected. - Also termed motion for relief from stay; motion to modify the stay.
motion to modify the stay
See MOTION TO LIFT THE STAY.
motion to quash
A party's request that the court nullify process or an act instituted by the other party, as in seeking to nullify a subpoena.
motion to remand
In a case that has been removed from state court to federal court, a party's request that the federal court return the case to state court, usu. because the federal court lacks jurisdiction or because the procedures for removal were not properly followed. 28 USCA ยง 1447(c).
motion to strike
1. Civil procedure. A party's request that the court delete insufficient defenses or immaterial, redundant, impertinent, or scandalous statements from an opponent's pleading. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). 2. Evidence. A request that inadmissible evidence be deleted from the record and that the jury be instructed to disregard it.
motion to suppress
A request that the court prohibit the introduction of illegally obtained evidence at a criminal trial.
motion to transfer venue
A request that the court transfer the case to another district or county, usu. because the original venue is improper under the applicable venue rules or because of local prejudice. See VENUE; CHANGE OF VENUE.
negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The tort of causing another severe emotional distress through one's negligent conduct. Most courts will allow a plaintiff to recover damages for emotional distress if the defendant's conduct results in physical contact with the plaintiff, or, when no contact occurs, if the plaintiff is in the zone of danger. See EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; ZONE-OF-DANGER RULE. Cf. INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
notice of motion
Written certification that a party to a lawsuit has filed a motion or that a motion will be heard or considered by the court at a particular time. ( Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the requirement that a motion be made in writing is fulfilled if the motion is stated in a written notice of the hearing on the motion. Also, the courts in most jurisdictions require all motions to include a certificate, usu. referred to as a certificate of service, indicating that the other parties to the suit have been given notice of the motion's filing. Notice of any hearing or other submission of the motion must usu. be provided to all parties by the party requesting the hearing or submission. Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d), 7(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. Form 19.
omnibus motion
See MOTION
omnibus motion.
A motion that makes several requests or asks for multiple forms of relief.