As soon as the case is filed, either side is free to file a motion, which is a request that the court decide a point of law. For example, a defendant may move to dismiss, asking the court to rule that the complaint was filed too late (for example, if the complaint was not filed until after the statute of limitations expired). In considering a defendant’s motion to dismiss, the court must assume that allegations in the complaint are true, so that any challenge at this stage is made strictly as a "matter of law" - what the law of your state says about a specific situation. Another example is a motion for summary judgment, which asks the court to rule in the requester’s favor because essential facts are no longer in dispute (perhaps because of what has been learned in discovery), making a jury’s decision unnecessary.

Either side can also present motions orally, while in the courtroom. Like pre-trial motions, these oral motions ask the court to decide a matter of law. For example, defendants sometimes move for judgment as a matter of law (called a motion for a directed verdict in some states), after the plaintiff has finished presenting evidence. This motion asks the court to dismiss the case without requiring the defendant to present any evidence, asserting that the plaintiff failed to show that a question of material fact is in dispute. Such a motion can address some or all of the many legal issues involved in trying a personal injury claim.