New York Law (NYLE) Practice Exam

The statute of frauds is a legal doctrine that requires certain contracts to be in writing to be enforceable. In this context, if John is raising a defense based on the statute of frauds, the court typically will not hear a motion on that defense if the primary claim relates to a matter that is outside the statute of frauds' requirements.

In this scenario, the reasoning behind the answer hinges on the principle that if the court has jurisdiction, it should first address the claim that directly impacts its power to decide the case—here, the subject matter jurisdiction. If the subject matter jurisdiction challenge is valid, then the court may avoid further proceedings on the merits, including the defense related to the statute of frauds.

Thus, it is appropriate for the court to prioritize the subject matter jurisdiction claim over the statute of frauds defense. This ensures that the court applies legal principles efficiently and decides if it has authority to hear the matter at all before delving into substantive legal defenses. Consequently, the correct approach is for the court to not consider the statute of frauds defense until it has determined its jurisdiction.