In Florida, a motion to strike is a request under Rule of Civil Procedure 1.140(f) asking the court to remove specific language from an opposing party’s pleading because it is redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous.1The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure The same rule, read together with Rule 1.140(b), also lets you strike an affirmative defense that fails as a matter of law. Filing the motion does not pause your deadline to answer the underlying pleading, and a sloppy motion can draw sanctions, so the drafting and timing deserve care.
What the Motion Can Remove
Rule 1.140(f) authorizes striking four categories of content from any pleading: redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.1The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
- Redundant allegations repeat something already stated elsewhere in the same pleading. If a complaint alleges the same breach of contract in three separate paragraphs, two of them are fair game.
- Immaterial facts have no connection to the legal claims or defenses in the case. A paragraph about a party’s unrelated business dealings adds nothing and can be stricken.
- Impertinent statements may touch on the subject matter but do not bear on any issue the court needs to resolve. This overlaps with immaterial, but catches content that feels adjacent to the case without helping decide it.
- Scandalous allegations are included to embarrass or shame a party rather than to prove anything. Personal attacks, irrelevant accusations of misconduct, and inflammatory language fall here.
Labeling language with one of these terms is not enough. Point to each specific paragraph or sentence, then explain in a sentence or two why the content fits the category. Judges deny motions to strike when the filer simply concludes that material is immaterial without showing why it has no bearing on any claim or defense.
Striking a Legally Insufficient Defense
A separate and more powerful use of the motion targets affirmative defenses that fail to state a legally recognized defense. Under Rule 1.140(b), if an answer raises a defense that does not hold up as a matter of law, you can move to strike it entirely.1The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure This is functionally similar to a motion to dismiss: you argue that even if every fact the defendant alleges is true, the defense still does not work legally.
Florida is a fact-pleading state, so the party raising a defense must lay out the key facts supporting it. A defense that names a legal doctrine with no supporting facts, like writing “estoppel” and stopping there, is vulnerable. Courts will not strike a defense just because the judge doubts the defendant can prove it at trial. If the defense is legally valid on its face and raises a genuine factual question, it survives.
Deadlines and the Tolling Trap
Timing separates the two uses of the motion. For redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter, Rule 1.140(f) allows the motion “at any time,” with no outer deadline.1The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure For striking a legally insufficient defense, you have 20 days after being served with the answer or reply. Miss that window and your remaining options are a motion for judgment on the pleadings or raising the issue at trial.
The bigger trap involves your own response deadline. Most motions filed under Rule 1.140 pause the clock on your obligation to answer or otherwise respond. A motion to strike under subdivision (f) does not.2Florida Supreme Court. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Committee Notes The rule carves motions to strike out of the tolling provision, so your answer deadline keeps running while the motion is pending. If you have been served with a complaint and want to move to strike offensive paragraphs, you still need to file your answer within the original 20-day window. Filing both at once is common practice: answer the complaint and simultaneously move to strike the objectionable portions.
Drafting the Motion
Every motion opens with a case caption. Florida Rule 1.100(c) requires the caption to include the court’s name, the case file number, the names of the parties, and a designation identifying what the document is.3Florida Supreme Court. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.100 – Pleadings and Motions Title the document something like “Motion to Strike Portions of Plaintiff’s Complaint” so the court and opposing party immediately see what it is.
The body follows a numbered-paragraph format. Open with a short paragraph identifying who you are and what you are asking the court to do. Then, in separate numbered paragraphs, identify each piece of language you want stricken. Quote or reference the specific paragraph number and the offending text from the opposing pleading. After each quoted portion, name the ground under Rule 1.140(f) and explain why the content fits it. Vague references to “various paragraphs” will get the motion denied. Precision matters here more than in almost any other filing.
Close with a brief conclusion requesting the relief and a signature block. Attorneys must include their name, address, email, telephone number, and Florida Bar number. A pro se filer includes name, address, telephone number, and email address, without a Bar number.
Filing and Serving the Motion
Florida requires court documents to be submitted through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.4Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal You need a registered account, and the system will prompt you to select the correct county and enter your case number. Upload the motion as a PDF. The portal charges a small processing fee that varies by payment method and generates a filing receipt with the submission date and time, which serves as your proof of filing.
You must also serve the motion on every other party. Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516 governs service and requires a certificate of service at the end of the motion.5Florida Courts. Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516 – Service of Pleadings and Documents The certificate states, in substance, that you furnished a copy to the named recipients by a specified method on a particular date. For parties registered with the e-filing system, service happens electronically. Parties not registered for e-service may need to be served by mail.
Getting a Hearing and a Ruling
Filing does not automatically put the motion in front of a judge. Contact the presiding judge’s judicial assistant to schedule hearing time. Most judges require you to coordinate available dates with opposing counsel before requesting the hearing. At the hearing, you present your arguments for removing the targeted material, and the opposing party explains why it should stay. The judge rules under the standards in Rule 1.140(f).
If the court grants the motion, you will typically be asked to draft a proposed order for the judge’s signature. The order should identify the specific paragraphs or language that are stricken and note that the motion was granted. Once signed, it becomes part of the case record.
When a court strikes portions of a pleading, it often grants the opposing party leave to amend, meaning they can file a revised version that removes or rewrites the problematic material. This is especially common when the stricken content was poorly drafted rather than fundamentally improper. A party whose affirmative defense is stricken for insufficient factual detail, for example, may get a chance to replead with more specificity. Winning a motion to strike does not always permanently eliminate the challenged content from the case.
Sanctions Risk on Both Sides
If the pleading you are targeting, or your own motion to strike, is not just poorly written but genuinely baseless, Florida Statute 57.105 provides a separate sanctions mechanism. A court can award reasonable attorney’s fees against any party or attorney who raises a claim or defense unsupported by the facts or by existing law.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 57.105 – Attorneys Fee; Sanctions for Raising Unsupported Claims or Defenses
Before filing a sanctions motion with the court, you must serve it on the opposing party and give them 21 days to withdraw or correct the challenged filing.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 57.105 – Attorneys Fee; Sanctions for Raising Unsupported Claims or Defenses This safe harbor gives parties a genuine opportunity to fix mistakes before facing financial penalties. If the offending material is withdrawn within that window, the sanctions motion cannot be filed. The safe harbor works in reverse as well: if someone thinks your motion to strike is frivolous, they can serve a sanctions motion on you under the same process. Sanctions are not appropriate when a party raises a good-faith argument for changing existing law, even one that ultimately fails.