A motion to strike example in federal court is a short written filing under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) that identifies specific language in an opposing party’s pleading, names the ground for removal (redundant, immaterial, impertinent, scandalous, or an insufficient defense), and asks the court to strike it.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections It travels as a package with a supporting memorandum and a proposed order, and it has to be filed before you file any responsive pleading to the document you’re challenging.
A Sample Motion to Strike
The example below shows the structure and language of a typical motion filed in federal court. Real filings will conform to local formatting rules, but this illustrates the essential components.
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE [DISTRICT NAME]
JANE DOE, Plaintiff,
v.
ACME CORPORATION, Defendant.
Case No. 26-cv-01234
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO STRIKE PORTIONS OF PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT
Defendant Acme Corporation respectfully moves this Court, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f), to strike the following portions of Plaintiff’s Complaint:
1. Paragraph 14, lines 3 through 7, beginning with “Defendant’s CEO has a well-known history of personal misconduct” and ending with “unrelated criminal investigation.” This material is scandalous and impertinent. It describes alleged personal conduct of a non-party that has no bearing on any claim in this action and serves only to embarrass and prejudice Defendant before a jury.
A supporting Memorandum of Points and Authorities is filed concurrently. A proposed order is attached as Exhibit A.
Respectfully submitted,
[Attorney Name]
[Bar Number]
[Firm Name]
[Address, Phone, Email]
Counsel for Defendant
Notice what the motion does. It pinpoints the exact language by paragraph and line number. It names the Rule 12(f) ground (scandalous and impertinent). And it explains in one or two sentences why the material meets that standard. The memorandum filed alongside develops these arguments at greater length with case citations. The proposed order simply directs the clerk to strike the specified language from the complaint.
The Documents You File Together
A motion to strike is a package, not a single document. Federal Rule 7(b) requires every motion to be in writing, state the grounds with particularity, and state the relief sought.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 7 – Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions and Other Papers In practice, that means three core pieces.
The Motion
The formal request itself. It carries the case caption, identifies the specific material you want struck by paragraph number or line reference, states which Rule 12(f) ground applies, and asks for a specific order. Keep it focused. Every sentence should either identify what you want removed or explain why the rule authorizes removing it.
The Supporting Memorandum
Also called a memorandum of points and authorities. This is where the legal argument lives. Walk the court through the challenged language, explain why it fits a recognized ground for striking, and cite case law from your jurisdiction showing that courts have struck similar material. If the content creates a prejudice risk or expands the scope of discovery, spell that out concretely. Vague arguments about “confusion” or “unfairness” rarely move the needle.
The Proposed Order
A draft order the judge can sign if they agree with you. It should identify by paragraph or line number exactly what gets removed, with a signature line for the judge. Many local rules require this; even where they don’t, including one signals that you’ve thought through the specific relief you want.
Depending on local rules and the facts, you may also need a certificate of conference confirming you attempted to meet and confer with opposing counsel, and a proof of service showing you served the motion package on all parties.
Grounds the Rule Recognizes
Rule 12(f) authorizes a court to strike two broad categories of material: an insufficient defense, or any matter in a pleading that is redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections Your motion needs to identify which ground applies to the specific language.
- Redundant allegations repeat something already stated elsewhere in the same pleading without adding anything new.
- Immaterial facts have no connection to any claim or defense. Even if true, they wouldn’t change the outcome.
- Impertinent statements don’t relate to the issues the court needs to decide. This overlaps with immateriality, but focuses more on content that clutters the pleading without serving any legal purpose.
- Scandalous language is degrading, abusive, or inserted to embarrass or prejudice the other side rather than advance a legitimate legal argument.
- An insufficient defense is an affirmative defense that fails as a matter of law. If a defendant asserts a defense that, even taken at face value, can’t defeat the plaintiff’s claim, a motion to strike can eliminate it before discovery begins.
The court can also strike material on its own without either party filing a motion, though judges rarely do this unprompted.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections The practical burden is on you to identify the problematic language and explain why it should go. Keep in mind that federal courts generally view motions to strike with disfavor and grant them infrequently, especially when the challenged language is merely annoying rather than genuinely prejudicial. Motions targeting insufficient defenses tend to get a warmer reception than motions aimed at individual sentences or phrases in a complaint.
When You Have to File
The deadline depends on whether you’re required to file a responsive pleading to the document you’re challenging. If you are, you must file the motion to strike before you file your response. If no responsive pleading is allowed, you have 21 days after being served with the pleading.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections Miss this window and you’ve likely waived the right to bring the motion, though the court retains its own power to strike material at any point.
Filing the motion also pauses your responsive-pleading deadline. Under Rule 12(a)(4), you have 14 days after the court rules on your motion to serve your response if the motion is denied.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections
Check Local Rules Before You Draft
Federal courts supplement the national rules with local rules that vary significantly from district to district. Pull up the local rules for the court where your case is pending before you draft anything. Common local requirements include a meet-and-confer obligation (where you must contact opposing counsel and try to resolve the dispute before filing), page limits for briefs, specific formatting requirements, and deadlines for opposition and reply briefs tied to the hearing date rather than the filing date. Some districts require a certificate of conference attached to the motion confirming that you attempted to work things out.
Ignoring local rules is one of the fastest ways to have a motion rejected before the judge reads it. Clerks check for compliance before placing a motion on the calendar, and a formatting violation or missing certificate can result in the filing being stricken or returned.
Filing and Serving the Package
Under Rule 5, you must serve a copy of every written motion on all other parties.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5 – Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers In most federal courts, service and filing happen simultaneously through the court’s electronic filing system (CM/ECF), which automatically serves registered attorneys when you upload. If any party isn’t registered for electronic service, you’ll need to serve them by mail or another method Rule 5 permits.
Once filed, the clerk processes the documents and typically assigns a hearing date. Some districts decide motions to strike on the papers alone. The opposing party will have a set period under local rules to file an opposition brief, and you’ll usually get a chance to file a reply after that.
What Happens After the Ruling
The judge will grant the motion, deny it, or defer the decision until trial.
If granted, the stricken material is removed from the pleading for all purposes going forward. But winning doesn’t always permanently eliminate the content. Under Rule 15, a party whose pleading has been partially struck can amend once as a matter of course within 21 days after service of the Rule 12(f) motion. After that window, they’ll need the court’s permission to amend, which the court should freely grant “when justice so requires.”4LII / Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 15 – Amended and Supplemental Pleadings
If denied, the challenged material stays. If you hadn’t yet filed your responsive pleading, you have 14 days from the date you receive notice of the court’s ruling to serve your response.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections A denial doesn’t necessarily mean the material will reach a jury; you can still challenge relevance or prejudice through motions in limine before trial.
The Risk of Sanctions
Rule 11 applies to every motion filed in federal court, including motions to strike. By signing and filing, your attorney certifies that the motion is not being filed to harass, delay, or run up costs, that the legal arguments have a genuine basis in existing law, and that the factual claims have evidentiary support.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions
If a court finds your motion violated these standards, it can impose sanctions ranging from non-monetary directives to an order requiring payment of the other side’s attorney’s fees incurred in opposing the motion. Rule 11 does include a 21-day safe harbor: before filing a sanctions motion against you, the other side must give 21 days’ notice, during which you can withdraw the offending motion to avoid sanctions.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions Treating the safe harbor as a backstop is not sound litigation judgment. Given how skeptically courts already view motions to strike, filing one that reads as a transparent delay tactic damages your credibility with the judge early in the case.