§50.8 Strategic and Practical Considerations

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§50.8STRATEGIC AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Attorneys should start analyzing potential CR 50 motions longbefore trial begins. It is not uncommon for such motions to be submitted on an issue or issues that a party presented in an unsuccessful motion for summary judgment under CR 56. Once evidentiary rulings are made, witnesses testify, and exhibits are admitted, issues that once seemed to the court to be murky or based upon disputed facts can become clearer. Having issues that likely will be subject to judgment as a matter of law outlined and firmly in your mind at the outset of trial will permit you to keep a running list of the evidence (or lack of evidence) necessary to bring a CR 50 motion on those issues.

If finances permit, ordering daily trial transcripts can go a long way toward assisting with a motion...