What does it mean to deny a motion as moot?

When a Court Denies a Motion as Moot, it Does not Grant the Motion because the Motion is now Irrelevant

When  a party makes a motion, it asks the court to rule on a certain request.  For example, a party could move to dismiss the case, move to compel production of a document during discovery, or move for an extension of time to answer a complaint.  If the court grants the motion, it provides the relief the movant seeks.

But sometimes a motion is no longer relevant because circumstances change. If the motion no longer matters it is considered moot or irrelevant.  And if the motion is irrelevant, then the court should not waste time considering it and simply deny the motion.

For example, let’s say a defendant moves the court to dismiss a complaint because the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and also moves the court to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction.  If the court grants the motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, then the case is going to end, regardless of whether the court has personal jurisdiction over the defendant or not.  In other words, the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is now moot, because  the case is over.  The court is likely to simply deny the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction as moot because the case is being dismissed anyway for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.