dismiss

v. the ruling by a judge that all or a portion (one or more of the causes of action) of the plaintiff's lawsuit is terminated (thrown out) at that point without further evidence or testimony. This judgment may be made before, during, or at the end of a trial, when the judge becomes convinced that the plaintiff has not and cannot prove his/her/its case. This can be based on the complaint not alleging a cause of action, a motion for summary judgment, plaintiff's opening statement of what will be proved, or some development in the evidence by either side which bars judgment for the plaintiff. The judge may dismiss on his own or upon motion by the defendant. The plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss a cause of action before or during trial if the case is settled, if it is not provable, or trial strategy dictates getting rid of a weak claim. A defendant may be "dismissed" from a lawsuit, meaning the suit is dropped against that party. (See: dismissal)

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References in periodicals archive

Equal dismissive and anxious: Base your type on the answer to Q10 ...

Are you really with your perfect match? AS STRANGERS WED ONTV, CAN SCIENCE PLAY CUPID?

According to Warne, Prior was very smug in his comments, although he added that it might have been a conscious effort or direction from Andy Flower to be arrogant and dismissive of the opposition.

Warne slams England players for being 'arrogant, dismissive and smug' in third Test

The ECR was employed because it allowed researchers the option of evaluating romantic attachment in terms of two higher order scales (anxiety and avoidance) as well as the four commonly used attachment styles (secure, dismissive, fearful, preoccupied) (see Brennan et al., 1998).

Relationship maintenance strategy use by romantic attachment style

Dismissive Materialism is a cognitive and emotional stance that says all religion and spirituality (except, perhaps, for the social benefits of belonging to a supportive organization) are stupid nonsense, and automatically dismisses any data or arguments to the contrary without bothering to really evaluate them.

Correspondence

Harry, your dismissive attitude towards the country and the culture which has hosted and provided hospitality to you is shocking.

Respect your hosts!

Her exaggerated claims of Aboriginal cannibalism and dismissive attitude towards castes has discredited her in academic circles in the past, however this book acknowledges the significant contribution her ethnographic data has made in Native Title claims.

Daisy Bates: Grande dame of the desert, Bob Reece

Sometimes, the West Midlands can be a little dismissive of its own achievements.

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Since Keisling presided over the establishment of Oregon's vote-by-mail system (VBM), his umbrage at Rubin's "casually dismissive half-sentence" characterizing VBM as a "terribly insecure system" is understandable, but his defense of VBM is hardly unbiased.

You've got votes

Judge Kozinski's dismissive attitude toward the victims--"They were paid for [their property].

Searching for Alex Kozinski

THE major off-course firms have joined the sponsors in pricing up tomorrow's pounds 2,500 Star Racing Puppy Stakes final at Walthamstow and, without exception, are more dismissive of the chances of Roswell Starship than Star Racing.

Dog Racing: Off-course layers not keen on Starship for the Star decider

But why be so dismissive? An adventurous summer gal would never bag on the chance this guy's worthy.

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At worst, we get dismissive essays from successful gay authors who seem determined to disregard the bookstores that helped give them their start.

The next Brokeback