motion for judgment as a matter of law
motion for judgment as a matter of law. A party’s request that the court enter a judgment in its favor before the case is submitted to the jury, or after a contrary jury verdict, because there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis on which a jury could find for the other party. • Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may move for judgment as a matter of law anytime before the case has been submitted to the jury. This kind of motion was formerly known as a motion for directed verdict (and still is in many jurisdictions). If the motion is denied and the case is submitted to the jury, resulting in an unfavorable verdict, the motion may be renewed within ten days after entry of the judgment. This aspect of the motion replaces the court paper formerly known as a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Fed. R. Civ. P. 50. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 2121, 2605; Judgment 199; Trial 167. C.J.S. Judgments §§ 62–68, 70; Trial §§ 432–433, 437–438.]
