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Connecticut Motion to Dismiss

In Connecticut a motion to dismiss (P.B. 10-30) is jurisdictional; attack sufficiency by motion to strike (10-39).

Introduction

Connecticut does not pack every pre-answer challenge into one motion the way the federal Rule 12(b) does. It splits that single federal motion into two separate vehicles, and choosing the wrong one is the classic Connecticut procedural mistake. A motion to dismiss under Connecticut Practice Book Sec. 10-30 is used only for jurisdictional and process defects: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process. If instead you believe the complaint fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted, the federal 12(b)(6) analog, you do not file a motion to dismiss in Connecticut. You file a motion to strike under Sec. 10-39. Both are pre-answer steps in the strict pleading order set by Sec. 10-6 and Sec. 10-7, and skipping a step waives it (Sec. 10-7). Both must be filed with a supporting memorandum of law (Sec. 10-30(c); Sec. 10-39(c)) in the Superior Court. A motion to dismiss contesting the court's jurisdiction must be filed within thirty days of filing an appearance (Sec. 10-30(b)); the personal-jurisdiction, process, and service grounds are waived if not raised in time (Sec. 10-32). DocDraft drafts a Connecticut-formatted motion from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Connecticut uses TWO vehicles, not one. A motion to dismiss under Practice Book Sec. 10-30 covers only jurisdiction and process; a motion to strike under Sec. 10-39 covers legal insufficiency. Pick the wrong vehicle and the challenge can fail on procedure alone.

  2. 2

    The motion to dismiss has exactly four grounds under Sec. 10-30(a): lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process. Failure to state a claim is NOT one of them.

  3. 3

    Pleadings in a Connecticut civil action must advance within thirty days from the return day under Sec. 10-8, and both the motion to dismiss and the motion to strike are pre-answer steps in the Sec. 10-6 / Sec. 10-7 order rather than substitutes for the answer.

  4. 4

    Filing the motion to dismiss early in the Sec. 10-6 sequence preserves your later steps; under Sec. 10-7, skipping a step in the pleading order waives it, so the order in which you plead matters as much as the deadline.

  5. 5

    Connecticut has no statewide meet-and-confer requirement for either motion in the grounded rules, but every motion to dismiss must be filed with a supporting memorandum of law under Sec. 10-30(c), and every motion to strike must include a memorandum citing legal authorities under Sec. 10-39(c).

  6. 6

    To challenge a complaint that fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted, file a motion to strike under Sec. 10-39(a)(1), and under Sec. 10-39(b) separately set forth each claim of legal insufficiency with the reasons for it.

  7. 7

    Both vehicles are filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court for the judicial district where the action is pending. A motion to dismiss contesting jurisdiction must be filed within thirty days of filing an appearance (Sec. 10-30(b)); subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be waived (Sec. 10-33).

Key Decisions

Choosing the Grounds for Dismissal

Timing and Strategy

Filing and Serving the Motion

Customize your Motion to Dismiss Template with DocDraft

SUPERIOR COURT OF CONNECTICUT JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF ______________________

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff,

v. Docket No. ______________________ Return Date: ______________________ [DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant.

MOTION TO DISMISS (Conn. Practice Book Sec. 10-30)

Pursuant to Connecticut Practice Book Sec. 10-30, the Defendant, [DEFENDANT NAME], appearing [self-represented / by counsel], respectfully moves this Court to dismiss the above-captioned action on the following jurisdictional and process grounds:

  1. Lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter (Sec. 10-30(a)(1));
  2. Lack of jurisdiction over the person (Sec. 10-30(a)(2));
  3. Insufficiency of process (Sec. 10-30(a)(3)); and/or
  4. Insufficiency of service of process (Sec. 10-30(a)(4)).

[Select and state only the ground or grounds that apply, with the specific facts supporting each.]

This motion contesting the Court's jurisdiction is filed within thirty days of the filing of the Defendant's appearance as required by Sec. 10-30(b), and in the pleading-order sequence set by Sec. 10-6 and Sec. 10-7.

NOTE ON VEHICLE: A motion to dismiss under Sec. 10-30 reaches only the four jurisdictional and process grounds above. If the Defendant's challenge is that the complaint is legally insufficient or fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted, the proper vehicle is a MOTION TO STRIKE under Sec. 10-39, not this motion.

MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT (Required by Conn. Practice Book Sec. 10-30(c))

I. INTRODUCTION [State the procedural posture and the specific jurisdictional or process defect.]

II. STANDARD A motion to dismiss under Sec. 10-30(a) is the vehicle to assert lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process.

III. ARGUMENT [Apply the controlling authority to the facts. Where the relevant facts are not apparent on the record, attach a supporting affidavit as contemplated by Sec. 10-30(c).]

IV. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the Defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant this Motion to Dismiss.

WHEREFORE, the Defendant respectfully requests that this Court dismiss the Plaintiff's complaint and grant such other relief as the Court deems just.

[DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant [Self-represented / Attorney name and juris number] [Address] [Telephone] [Email] Dated: ______________________

CERTIFICATION OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Motion to Dismiss and supporting Memorandum of Law was [delivered / mailed / electronically served] on [DATE] to all counsel and self-represented parties of record:

[Name and address of Plaintiff or Plaintiff's counsel]

[DEFENDANT NAME]

Connecticut Requirements for Motion to Dismiss

File a motion to dismiss within thirty days of your appearance to contest jurisdiction

Under Practice Book Sec. 10-30(b), a defendant wishing to contest the court's jurisdiction must file the motion to dismiss within thirty days of filing an appearance. Personal-jurisdiction, process, and service grounds are waived under Sec. 10-32 if not raised in time.

Advance your pleading within thirty days from the return day

Under Practice Book Sec. 10-8, pleadings, including motions addressed to the pleadings, must advance within thirty days from the return day. The motion to dismiss is a pre-answer step in the Sec. 10-6 / Sec. 10-7 order, not a substitute for the answer.

Use the motion to dismiss only for the four jurisdiction and process grounds

Practice Book Sec. 10-30(a) limits the motion to dismiss to lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process. Failure to state a claim is not a ground for this motion.

File a motion to strike to attack the legal sufficiency of the complaint

Under Practice Book Sec. 10-39(a)(1), a motion to strike, not a motion to dismiss, is the vehicle to contest the legal sufficiency of the allegations of a complaint to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Sec. 10-39(b) requires each claim of legal insufficiency to be separately set forth with its reasons.

Plead in the order set by the rules or waive a skipped step

Practice Book Sec. 10-6 sets the pleading order: complaint, motion to dismiss, request to revise, motion to strike, then answer. Under Sec. 10-7, skipping a step in the order waives it, so the sequence of your filings matters as much as the deadline.

File a supporting memorandum of law with the motion

Practice Book Sec. 10-30(c) requires the motion to dismiss to always be filed with a supporting memorandum of law and, where appropriate, supporting affidavits as to facts not apparent on the record. A motion to strike must include a memorandum citing legal authorities under Sec. 10-39(c).

Account for the short calendar hearing date

Under Practice Book Sec. 10-31(b) the motion to dismiss is placed on the short calendar to be held not less than forty-five days following filing, and the motion to strike likewise under Sec. 10-40(b). No proposed order requirement was located in the grounded rules; check your court's local rules and standing orders before filing.

File with the Clerk of the Superior Court and serve all parties

Both vehicles are filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court for the judicial district where the action is pending, as reflected in the Practice Book Sec. 10-6 pleading order. Serve a copy on all counsel and self-represented parties of record and include a certification of service.

Frequently Asked Questions

First identify the defect. A motion to dismiss under Practice Book Sec. 10-30 is used only for jurisdiction and process problems: subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service. File it with the Clerk of the Superior Court along with a supporting memorandum of law as required by Sec. 10-30(c). If your objection is that the complaint fails to state a claim, you file a motion to strike under Sec. 10-39 instead.

A defendant contesting the court's jurisdiction must file the motion to dismiss within thirty days of filing an appearance under Practice Book Sec. 10-30(b). Separately, under Sec. 10-8 pleadings must advance within thirty days from the return day. Personal-jurisdiction, process, and service grounds are waived under Sec. 10-32 if not raised by a timely motion to dismiss in the Sec. 10-6 and Sec. 10-7 sequence. Subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be waived under Sec. 10-33.

The most common federal ground, failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) (the complaint pleads no legal claim even if every fact is taken as true), is handled differently in Connecticut. That challenge belongs in a motion to strike under Practice Book Sec. 10-39(a)(1), not a motion to dismiss. Under Sec. 10-30(a) the motion to dismiss reaches only four grounds: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process.

You file a motion to strike under Practice Book Sec. 10-39, not a motion to dismiss. The motion to strike is the Connecticut vehicle for contesting the legal sufficiency of the allegations of a complaint to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Under Sec. 10-39(b) each claim of legal insufficiency must be separately set forth with its reasons, and under Sec. 10-39(c) the motion must include a memorandum of law citing the legal authorities relied on.

Both the motion to dismiss and the motion to strike are pre-answer steps in the pleading order set by Practice Book Sec. 10-6 and Sec. 10-7. Filing the earlier step preserves the later steps, while skipping a step in the order waives it under Sec. 10-7. Pleadings continue to advance within thirty days under Sec. 10-8, so after a ruling the case proceeds to the next step in the sequence toward the answer.

Both the motion to dismiss and the motion to strike are filed in the Superior Court, with the Clerk of the Superior Court for the judicial district where the action is pending. Practice Book Sec. 10-6 places each as a step in the pleading order before the answer. The motion to dismiss is then placed on the short calendar to be held not less than forty-five days following filing under Sec. 10-31(b).