Also known as: FRCP 12 · Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 · Rule 12 · Rule 12(b)
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A federal procedural rule that consolidates available defenses and objections to a complaint. The rule permits certain threshold challenges to be raised by pre-answer motion and requires consolidation of waivable defenses in the first such motion. Failure to raise specified defenses in the initial motion or responsive pleading results in waiver.
Fabian Flynn served a complaint on Fairfield Bank. The bank filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. Flynn served an amended complaint twenty days later. The amendment was permitted as a matter of course because it occurred within twenty-one days after service of the motion.
Farid Farahani sued Foster Forge for breach of contract. Foster Forge moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) and attached an affidavit containing facts outside the complaint. The court considered the affidavit without excluding it. The motion was converted to one for summary judgment under Rule 56.
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Floyd Franklin sued Ferrum Metals in federal court. Ferrum Metals filed a pre-answer motion under Rule 12(b)(6) but omitted any challenge to personal jurisdiction. Ferrum Metals later attempted to raise lack of personal jurisdiction in its answer. The defense was waived because it was available and omitted from the first motion.
Felicia Fuentes sued Fisher Foods alleging an antitrust conspiracy based solely on parallel pricing behavior. Fisher Foods moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). The complaint contained no facts suggesting an actual agreement. The motion was granted because the allegations were consistent with lawful independent conduct.
Felix Franco sued Fairfield Bank alleging violations of a federal environmental statute. Fairfield Bank moved to dismiss before answering, asserting lack of standing. The court examined the standing allegations at the outset. The motion was granted because the plaintiff failed to satisfy the constitutional requirements for standing.
Felicity French sued Foster Forge under the securities laws. The complaint alleged misleading statements but contained no facts supporting a strong inference that the defendants acted with scienter. Foster Forge moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). The motion was granted because the pleadings failed to meet the heightened standard for inferring fraudulent intent.
A defendant must raise lack of personal jurisdiction in the first pre-answer motion under Rule 12 or in the answer if no such motion is filed. Omitting the defense from an initial Rule 12 motion waives it under Rule 12(h)(1).
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The motion must be converted to one for summary judgment under Rule 56 if the court considers the outside materials and does not exclude them. All parties must receive a reasonable opportunity to present pertinent material.
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No. Defects in the form or content of the summons render process insufficient under Rule 12(b)(4) even if the defendant received actual notice and suffered no prejudice. Formal compliance with Rule 4(a) is required.
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Lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised by pre-answer motion and is never waived. The court must dismiss whenever it determines jurisdiction is lacking, even after trial.
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A complaint must contain enough factual matter to state a plausible claim. Allegations that are merely consistent with lawful conduct do not survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion under the standard applied in Twombly.
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…harms identified by petitioner in his brief before this Court is a subject of hot dispute, hardly amenable to dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Compare, e. g. , Brief for Petitioner 36-37 and Brief for David Robinson, Jr., as Amicus Curiae 23-28, on the one hand, with People v. Onofre , 51 N. Y. 2d 476, 489, 415 N. E. 2d…