Legal Definitions - Movant

A movant is a party involved in a legal case who formally requests the court to take a specific action or issue a particular ruling. This formal request is called a motion. Essentially, the movant is the individual or entity initiating a specific request to the judge or court.

Here are some examples to illustrate the role of a movant:

• Imagine a criminal case where the defense attorney believes that certain evidence was obtained by the police in violation of their client's constitutional rights. The attorney might file a motion to suppress evidence, asking the court to prevent that evidence from being used at trial. In this scenario, the defense attorney (on behalf of their client) is the movant because they are the party making the formal request to the court.

• Consider a civil lawsuit where a company is being sued for breach of contract. The company's legal team might file a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the plaintiff's complaint fails to state a valid legal claim even if all its allegations were true. Here, the defendant company is the movant, as they are the party formally asking the court to end the lawsuit before it proceeds further.

• In a family law dispute, such as a divorce, one spouse might file a motion for temporary orders, asking the court to establish temporary arrangements for child custody, visitation, or financial support while the divorce proceedings are ongoing. The spouse who files this request is the movant, seeking immediate, albeit temporary, court intervention on these matters.