Also known as: FRCP 12(b)(6) · Rule 12(b)(6) · 12(b)(6) motion · 12(b)(6) · failure to state a claim
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A pretrial motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Felipe Figueroa sued Valley Regional Hospital after surgery complications. His complaint stated only that the procedure failed and caused harm without identifying any specific act or omission by hospital staff. The hospital moved to dismiss before answering. The court granted the motion because the allegations supplied no factual content permitting a plausible inference of negligence.
Francesca Fiore sued a state agency seeking injunctive relief and later obtained a consent decree that altered the agency's practices. She then sought attorney's fees. The agency opposed on the ground that no enforceable judgment on the merits had been entered. The court denied fees because the decree did not satisfy the legal-relationship test required for prevailing-party status.
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Freya Freeman brought a securities fraud action against a corporation and its officers. The complaint alleged misleading statements but supplied no particularized facts showing a strong inference of scienter. The defendants moved to dismiss. The court granted the motion because the allegations failed to meet the heightened pleading standard for inferring fraudulent intent.
Francesca Fowler sued vendors who supplied equipment to a public company. The complaint alleged the vendors participated in a scheme to inflate revenues but did not claim the vendors made any public misstatements. The vendors moved to dismiss. The court granted the motion because secondary actors who do not make statements cannot be held primarily liable under the securities laws.
Fumiko Fujimoto sued a defense contractor in federal court. After dismissal of the first action the contractor moved to dismiss the second suit. The court granted the motion because the prior dismissal operated as an adjudication on the merits that barred relitigation of the same claim.
Faye Fuller purchased shares of an Australian bank on a foreign exchange and later sued in U.S. district court alleging fraud. The bank moved to dismiss. The court granted the motion because the transactions occurred entirely outside the United States and the securities laws do not reach such foreign conduct.
A defendant may file the motion before serving a responsive pleading. The motion tests only the legal sufficiency of the complaint on its face.
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The court accepts well-pleaded factual allegations as true and draws reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor. It disregards legal conclusions and formulaic recitations of elements. Dismissal is proper when the complaint fails to state a plausible claim.
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No. A party may join multiple Rule 12 defenses in the same motion without waiving any of them. Certain defenses remain waivable if omitted from the first pre-answer motion or the answer.
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The defendant receives fourteen days after notice of the denial to serve an answer. The motion tolls the original deadline and restarts a fresh period upon denial.
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Yes. The defense may be raised in a later pleading, by a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, or at trial.
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…claimed deprivation of the right to vote in municipal elections. The District Court's dismissal for want of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. This Court unanimously reversed. This Court's answer to the argument that States enjoyed unrestricted control over…