Precedential No. 37: Applying Revised Rules, TTAB Denies Motion For Judgment On The Pleadings As Untimely

Here's a 2017 ruling that slipped under the TTABLog radar. In this precedential order, the Board denied an FRCP 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, directed at applicant's counterclaims, because the motion was untimely. The Board followed its established practice of applying to motions for judgment on the pleadings the same deadline applicable to summary judgment motions under recently amended Rule 2.127(e)(1). Shared, LLC v. SharedSpaceofAtlanta, LLC, Opposition No. 91228478 (December 21, 2017) [precedential].

A motion for judgment on the pleadings, like a summary judgment motion, is "a pretrial device intended to save the time and expense of a full trial when a party is able to demonstrate, prior to trial, that there is no genuine dispute of material fact to be resolved, and the moving party is entitled to judgment on the substantive merits of the controversy as a matter of law."