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Oregon Motion to Dismiss

In Oregon you move to dismiss under ORCP 21 A within the 30-day appearance window in Circuit Court.

Introduction

In Oregon a defendant challenges a complaint before answering by filing a motion to dismiss under ORCP 21 A, the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure provision that governs how defenses are presented. Oregon keeps its own numbering rather than the federal 12(b) scheme: the nine grounds run from A(1)(a) through A(1)(i). The failure-to-state-a-claim ground is A(1)(h), framed as failure to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim, Oregon's older fact-pleading standard rather than federal notice pleading. The motion must be filed before pleading if a further pleading is permitted, which puts it inside the same 30-day appear-and-defend window the answer would otherwise occupy under ORCP 7 C(2), applied through ORCP 15 A. Under UTCR 5.010 the moving party normally must confer in good faith first, but that conferral requirement is expressly waived for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or for lack of jurisdiction. Every motion document must include a memorandum of law or statement of authority under UTCR 5.020(1). The case is filed in Circuit Court. Missing the appearance window risks default, so the timing matters. DocDraft drafts an Oregon-formatted motion from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Oregon's pre-answer dismissal vehicle is a motion to dismiss under ORCP 21 A, not a federal Rule 12(b) motion. Oregon uses its own ORCP lettering rather than the FRCP numbers.

  2. 2

    ORCP 21 A lists nine grounds, lettered A(1)(a) through A(1)(i), covering subject-matter and personal jurisdiction, another pending action, lack of capacity, insufficient summons or service, real-party-in-interest, failure to join a party under Rule 29, failure to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim, and the statute-of-limitations bar.

  3. 3

    The motion to dismiss must be filed before pleading if a further pleading is permitted (ORCP 21 A(2)(a)), so it stands in place of the answer inside the same 30-day appearance window under ORCP 7 C(2) applied via ORCP 15 A.

  4. 4

    Because the motion is filed in lieu of the answer, resolving it before you plead is what preserves your time to respond; if a motion is denied, the court sets the time to plead further (check your court's scheduling and local rules for the exact period).

  5. 5

    Under UTCR 5.010 you must make a good faith effort to confer before filing most ORCP 21 motions, but that conferral requirement is expressly waived for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or for lack of jurisdiction; a certificate of compliance is filed with the motion when conferral applies.

  6. 6

    The most common ground is failure to state a claim, which in Oregon is A(1)(h): failure to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim. That phrasing reflects Oregon's fact-pleading tradition, distinct from federal notice pleading.

  7. 7

    You file in Oregon Circuit Court, the general civil trial court, with the clerk of the Circuit Court where the action was commenced. Every motion document must include a memorandum of law or statement of authority under UTCR 5.020(1).

Key Decisions

Choosing the Grounds for Dismissal

Timing and Strategy

Filing and Serving the Motion

Customize your Motion to Dismiss Template with DocDraft

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON FOR THE COUNTY OF ________________

____________________________, ) Plaintiff, ) Case No. ____________________ ) v. ) DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS ) UNDER ORCP 21 A ____________________________, ) Defendant. )

TO THE COURT AND TO PLAINTIFF AND PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY OF RECORD:

Defendant ____________________ moves the Court under ORCP 21 A for an order dismissing the Complaint. This motion is made before pleading, as ORCP 21 A(2)(a) permits, and is supported by the memorandum of law below as required by UTCR 5.020(1).

GROUNDS FOR DISMISSAL

This motion is brought on the following ground(s) under ORCP 21 A:

[ ] A(1)(a) lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter; [ ] A(1)(b) lack of jurisdiction over the person; [ ] A(1)(c) another action pending between the same parties for the same cause; [ ] A(1)(d) plaintiff has not the legal capacity to sue; [ ] A(1)(e) insufficiency of summons or process or insufficiency of service; [ ] A(1)(f) the party asserting the claim is not the real party in interest; [ ] A(1)(g) failure to join a party under Rule 29; [ ] A(1)(h) failure to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim; [ ] A(1)(i) the pleading shows the action was not commenced within the time limited by statute.

MEMORANDUM OF LAW

Under ORCP 21 A, the defenses listed above may, at the option of the pleader, be made by motion to dismiss filed before pleading. [State the ground relied on and the supporting facts and authority. For a motion under A(1)(h), explain how the Complaint fails to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim under Oregon's fact-pleading standard.]

This memorandum is submitted to satisfy UTCR 5.020(1), which requires every motion document to include a memorandum of law or a statement of authority explaining how the relevant authorities support the contentions of the moving party.

CONFERRAL

[Conferral under UTCR 5.010 is expressly waived for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or for lack of jurisdiction. For any other ORCP 21 ground, state the good faith effort to confer and file a certificate of compliance with this motion as UTCR 5.010 requires. Confirm conferral and certificate requirements with your court's local rules.]

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

Defendant respectfully requests that the Court dismiss the Complaint and grant such other relief as the Court deems just. A proposed order is submitted; service of the proposed order follows UTCR 5.100. [Confirm with your court's local rules whether a proposed order must accompany the motion at filing.]

DATED this ______ day of ________, 20.

                               ____________________________________
                               Defendant, Self-Represented (or Attorney)
                               Name: ______________________________
                               OSB No. (if attorney): ______________
                               Address: ___________________________
                               Phone: _____________________________
                               Email: _____________________________

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on the date below I served a true copy of this Motion to Dismiss on the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney of record at the address shown below by the method indicated, consistent with the rules for service and the requirements of your court's local rules.

Name and address served: ___________________________________ Method of service: _________________________________________

DATED this ______ day of ________, 20.

                               ____________________________________
                               Signature

Oregon Requirements for Motion to Dismiss

File before pleading under ORCP 21 A(2)(a)

A motion to dismiss asserting any ground in ORCP 21 A(1)(a) through (i) must be filed before pleading if a further pleading is permitted, per ORCP 21 A(2)(a).

Observe the 30-day appearance window

Because a responsive motion stands in place of the answer under ORCP 15 A, file within the 30-day appear-and-defend window set by ORCP 7 C(2), measured from the date of service of the summons when served other than by publication.

Select your ORCP 21 A ground

Identify which of the nine grounds lettered A(1)(a) through A(1)(i) applies, from subject-matter and personal jurisdiction through the statute-of-limitations bar in A(1)(i).

Plead failure to state a claim as A(1)(h)

Oregon's failure-to-state-a-claim ground is A(1)(h): failure to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim. This fact-pleading formulation is distinct from federal notice pleading and is not labeled 12(b)(6).

Include a memorandum of law under UTCR 5.020(1)

Every motion document must include a memorandum of law or a statement of authority explaining how relevant authorities support the moving party's contentions, per UTCR 5.020(1).

Confer first unless the ground is waived

UTCR 5.010 requires a good faith effort to confer before filing most ORCP 21 motions, with a certificate of compliance filed alongside; conferral is expressly waived for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or for lack of jurisdiction.

File in Oregon Circuit Court

File with the clerk of the Circuit Court where the action was commenced; the Circuit Court is Oregon's general civil trial court of record.

Serve any proposed order under UTCR 5.100

If you submit a proposed order, UTCR 5.100 requires serving it on each attorney not less than three days before submission, or on a self-represented party not less than seven days before, or attaching a stipulation. Whether a proposed order must accompany the motion at filing is set by your court's local rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

File a motion to dismiss under ORCP 21 A before pleading, with the clerk of the Circuit Court where the action was commenced. State the ground you rely on, lettered A(1)(a) through A(1)(i), and include a memorandum of law or statement of authority as required by UTCR 5.020(1). When conferral applies under UTCR 5.010, file a certificate of compliance with the motion.

ORCP 21 A(2)(a) requires the motion to be filed before pleading if a further pleading is permitted. Because a responsive motion stands in place of the answer under ORCP 15 A, it falls within the 30-day appear-and-defend window set by ORCP 7 C(2), measured from the date of service of the summons when served in a manner other than publication.

ORCP 21 A enumerates nine grounds, lettered A(1)(a) through A(1)(i): lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, another action pending between the same parties for the same cause, lack of legal capacity to sue, insufficiency of summons or service, the claimant not being the real party in interest, failure to join a party under Rule 29, failure to state ultimate facts sufficient to constitute a claim, and that the action was not commenced within the time limited by statute.

Under UTCR 5.010 the moving party must make a good faith effort to confer before filing most ORCP 21 motions and file a certificate of compliance with the motion. That conferral requirement is expressly waived for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or for lack of jurisdiction, so those two grounds do not require conferral.

If the court denies the motion, the case proceeds and you must then plead in response to the complaint. The motion was filed before pleading and in place of the answer under ORCP 15 A and ORCP 21 A(2)(a), so once it is resolved the court directs the time to plead further. Confirm the exact period with the court's order and local rules.

You file in Oregon Circuit Court, the state's general civil trial court of record, with the clerk of the Circuit Court where the action was commenced. The motion is presented under ORCP 21 A and must include a memorandum of law or statement of authority under UTCR 5.020(1).