In a bench trial, what is the appropriate action to take if the plaintiff has rested their case and has not established a cause of action?

In a bench trial, if the plaintiff has rested their case and failed to establish a cause of action, the appropriate action is to file a motion for involuntary dismissal. This motion is grounded in the idea that the plaintiff has not presented sufficient evidence to support their claims, and therefore, the case should be dismissed without requiring the defendant to present any evidence in their defense.

In this scenario, the court is typically tasked with determining whether the plaintiff has met the burden of proof required for their claims. If the court believes that there has been a failure to demonstrate a valid cause of action, it can grant the motion for involuntary dismissal. This serves to efficiently resolve the case without prolonging the proceedings unnecessarily.

Moving for a directed verdict is a term more commonly associated with jury trials and would not apply here because it requests the court to find in favor of the defendant due to insufficient evidence from the plaintiff after all evidence has been presented, which is not the context in a bench trial once the plaintiff rests. Similarly, filing a motion to appeal a verdict or requesting a jury trial at this stage would not be applicable or suitable actions since an appeal follows a final judgment and a motion for a jury trial would need to be made before the bench trial commenced,