If A Defense Has No Merit, Can We Keep The Jury From Hearing It?

by Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC on February 3, 2012

in Buffalo Injury Questions and Answers

When responding to a Complaint in a Buffalo personal injury lawsuit, the defense will almost always set forth in its Answer a number of defenses that the defense attorney believes may be relevant to the lawsuit.  There are a variety of issues that may be raised in defense, and what the exact defenses will be varies from case to case.  As the lawsuit progresses and information is exchanged by the parties, it may be found that some of these defenses do not apply.

When this happens, the injured party will want to avoid having such defenses submitted for the jury’s consideration.  In some cases, the defendant may simply agree to withdraw a defense if it realizes it has no merit.  If the defendant chooses not to do so, the injured party has the right to make a motion requesting that the defense in question be struck.

This motion usually will be presented to the judge who will oversee the personal injury trial.  Under these circumstances, the burden in on the plaintiff to prove that there is no legal or factual support for the defense in question.  If this can be proven to the judge, the judge may strike the defense.

If you have suffered a personal injury, we would be happy to help you.  Please call us at 716-542-5444.

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