Sample Motions in Limine

    We have gone through and culled together a number of motions in limine that we have filed in our cases.  These may be of assistance to you should you be presented with an issue similar to the Motion in Limineone presented in our case.  Because of the difficulties in transferring the documents from WordPerfect to Microsoft Word to the website, the layout of the document may look different than it actually appeared and some of the wording may have been doctored in the translation. We may also have deleted the name of the client, court or witnesses in certain instances for the purposes of confidentially.  The substance of the motions, however, have remained generally intact.     

    Miller & Zois is committed to the continued education of other personal injury attorneys who are fighting on behalf of injured clients.  If you have any motions in limine that you believe would be of assistance to other attorneys representing injured victims, please forward them to us and we will, if appropriate, put your motion on our site.

    The phrase in limine in Latin means "on the threshold." Motions in limine are used to prohibit or limit certain testimony or evidence at trial. A motion in limine in a personal injury case is a motion typically made before trial starts, but can be made at any time before or during a trial.
    In most courts, lawyers must file any motions in limine fifteen (15) days before trial. Many judges view motions in limine as a form of preliminary injunction. In other words, the moving party in a personal injury accident case would be irreparably harmed by waiting for an in-trial objection - after the cat is already out of the bag in a sense. Consequently, the standard in Maryland for granting of a motion in limine in an accident case is whether any reference to the evidence the moving party seeks to exclude is so prejudicial that the nonmoving party may not make reference to it. This is particularly important to the personal injury attorney who is does not want to the defense attorney referencing the evidence at issue in defendant's opening statement (where objection is more difficult).
    Lawyers must also remain mindful of the scope of the relief sought and should reflect that request in a draft order for the trial court's signature. It is important that the order contain language that is narrowly tailored to the inappropriate evidence. Judges are reticent to exclude broad categories of evidence but may be more reception to a more narrow request.

    If you are on the losing side of a motion in limine, it is important to remember that, unlike many judicial orders, orders in limine are interlocutory and not final rulings on the admissibility of evidence. Accordingly, it is not inappropriate for accident attorneys to request a reversal or modification of a prior ruling, particularly if the request is based on a different presentation of evidence than the trial court was led to believe would be presented. In fact, these arguments often need to be raised again because a denial of a motion in limine in an accident case does not always preserve the record for appeal, particularly if the in limine motions are argued in the judge's chambers.

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