Motion to Vacate Default Judgment
Motion to Issue Execution
Motion to File Late Answer
Motion to Dismiss
Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order
Motion to Compel Discovery
Motion to Enforce Agreement

Motion to Vacate Default Judgment
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When a party misses a court date, they run the risk that the court may rule for the other side by default. In the case of a tenant who misses their hearing date for a summary process eviction, for example, a default judgment against the tenant would likely give the landlord possession of the premises and some amount of damages. After a default has been entered against a party, that party has the option of filing a Motion to Vacate the default, which asks a judge to remove the default and allow the original case to proceed. While there is certainly no guarantee that such a motion will be successful, in order to prevail, the moving party (the person seeking to have the default removed) will need to give the court a good reason why they missed the original court date and show that they have a defense to the eviction. If the motion is granted, the case resumes, and it is likely that the parties will then be asked to present their evidence to the court that very same day.

Motion to Issue Execution
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This is a motion filed by a landlord to request that the court issue an Execution, which is a document that allows the landlord to recover possession of the premises and to collect any damages that have been awarded to the landlord as a result of the eviction action. Executions may issue as a matter of course under applicable law after the conclusion of a summary process eviction, or they may issue on a particular date specified in a settlement agreement between the parties to an eviction action. A Motion to Issue Execution is typically filed by a landlord if they are alleging that a tenant failed to abide by the conditions of a Housing Court agreement. The motion asks the court to give the landlord possession of the premises because of the breach of the agreement by the tenant. In order to prevail, the landlord must show to the court that the tenant’s breach of the agreement was material and substantial – a very minor breach by the tenant may not be enough to allow the landlord to prevail. Having said that, landlords typically (but certainly not always) prevail on such motions because the courts tend to rule that most breaches meet the necessary threshold.

Motion to File Late Answer
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When a tenant receives a summary process complaint (see Overview of Summary Process Eviction Procedure for more information), the document lists a particular date by which the tenant must file an answer to the landlord’s allegations.  Tenants often miss this filing date, most often because they do not understand the requirement. In such cases, the tenant should prepare an answer as soon as possible and ask the court to allow them to file it late. While the court will often allow such motions, they may strike the tenant’s request for a jury trial in such instances or limit their ability to seek discovery (information about the case) from the landlord. For this reason, it is important that all parties file timely answers if at all possible.

Motion to Dismiss
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The party against whom a case has been filed – a tenant in a summary process eviction – can file a Motion to Dismiss for a variety of reasons. Instances include, but are not limited to, if the Notice to Quit was improperly served or not served at all; if the case was commenced before the Notice to Quit expired; if the landlord failed to properly name the parties; if there are any defects with the Notice to Quit; or if there are certain problems with the filing party’s underlying case. Note that if the case is dismissed on a procedural ground, the landlord could refile it and proceed with the underlying issues in the case.

Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order
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A Temporary Restraining Order, or TRO, is filed to either prevent an individual or entity from continuing to do an objectionable behavior or to force them to do something that they should be doing. Examples include TROs filed by landlords to prevent a tenant from disturbing other residents, or to prevent a tenant from keeping their apartment in an unsanitary condition. Tenants might file a TRO to force a landlord to abide by the state safety and sanitary codes if their apartment is in poor condition.

Motion to Compel Discovery
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This motion can be filed by either party in a summary process eviction or other lawsuit when one party has failed to answer or failed to properly answer the other party’s request for discovery (a request for information and evidence related to the case). The court will typically not punish the other side if the omission is not serious or the time lapsed not egregious. But the court can impose increasingly harsh sanctions if a judge determines that the delay or omission is deliberate or somehow unreasonable.

Motion to Enforce Agreement
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This motion can be filed by either party to a settlement agreement although it is more typically filed by a landlord in the event that a tenant breaches an agreement to vacate the premises or to make certain payments towards an arrearage (back rent). A tenant could file such a motion if a landlord fails to make repairs promised in an agreement or otherwise fails to uphold the terms of the agreement.