Legal Definitions - nonissuable plea

A nonissuable plea is a type of plea that cannot be decided by the court on the merits of the case. This means that the court ruling on this type of plea will not determine the outcome of the case. Examples of nonissuable pleas include:

• Plea in abatement: A plea that objects to the place, time, or method of asserting the plaintiff's claim but does not dispute the claim's merits.
• Jurisdictional plea: A plea asserting that the court lacks jurisdiction either over the defendant or over the subject matter of the case.

For example, if a defendant files a plea in abatement arguing that the plaintiff filed the lawsuit in the wrong court, the court's ruling on this plea will not determine whether the defendant is liable for the plaintiff's claims. Instead, the court will only decide whether the case should be dismissed or transferred to a different court.