FRCP 12 (Defenses And Objections: All You Need To Know)

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How does FRCP Rule 12 deal with defenses and objections in court?

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What Is FRCP 12

FRCP 12 refers to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Section 12 titled “Defenses and Objections”.

The general rule under Section 12 FRCP is that:

• A defendant must serve an answer or responsive pleading within 21 days following the service of a summons and complaint
• A party must serve an answer to a counterclaim or crossclaim within 21 days after being served with the pleadings
• A party must serve a reply to an answer within 21 days after being served

FRCP 12 Overview

Let’s look at FRCP Section 12 in detail so we can better understand it.

Here is an FRCP 12 overview being composed of several paragraphs and subparagraphs as follows:

• FRCP 12(a) Time to Serve a Responsive Pleading.
  • FRCP 12(a)(1) In General. 
  • FRCP 12(a)(2) United States and Its Agencies, Officers, or Employees Sued in an Official Capacity.
  • FRCP 12(a)(3) United States Officers or Employees Sued in an Individual Capacity. 
  • FRCP 12(a)(4) Effect of a Motion. 
• FRCP 12(b) How to Present Defenses. 
  • FRCP 12(b)(1) lack of subject-matter jurisdiction;
  • FRCP 12(b)(2) lack of personal jurisdiction;
  • FRCP 12(b)(3) improper venue;
  • FRCP 12(b)(4) insufficient process;
  • FRCP 12(b)(5) insufficient service of process;
  • FRCP 12(b)(6) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and
  • FRCP 12(b)(7) failure to join a party under Rule 19.
• FRCP 12(c) Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. 
• FRCP 12(d) Result of Presenting Matters Outside the Pleadings. 
• FRCP 12(e) Motion for a More Definite Statement. 
• FRCP 12(f) Motion to Strike. 
• FRCP 12(g) Joining Motions.
  • FRCP 12(g)(1) Right to Join.
  • FRCP 12(g)(2) Limitation on Further Motions. 
• FRCP 12(h) Waiving and Preserving Certain Defenses.
  • FRCP 12(h)(1) When Some Are Waived. 
  • FRCP 12(h)(2) When to Raise Others. 
  • FRCP 12(h)(3) Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction. 
• FRCP 12(i) Hearing Before Trial.

Now, let’s look at the main provisions of FRCP 12.

How Does FRCP 12 Work

What are the specific statutory rights and obligations under Sec 12 FRCP.

Let’s look at the main aspects of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12.

FRCP 12(a) Time to Serve A Responsive Pleading

According to FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(i), a defendant must serve an answer within 21 days after being served with a lawsuit, within 60 days if he has waived service under Rule 4(d) (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(ii), and 90 days if the defendant is outside of the United States (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(ii)).

A party to a lawsuit must file a counterclaim or crossclaim within 21 days after being served with an action (FRCP 12(a)(1)(B))

A party must serve a “reply” to an answer within 21 days of the answer (FRCP 12(a)(1)(C).

The United States, US agencies, US officers and employees, if they are sued in their official capacity can serve their answer within 60 days (FRCP 12(a)(2)).

US employees or officers sued in their individual capacity can file a response within 60 days (FRCP 12(a)(3)).

If the court denies a motion served under this rule, the responsive pleading must be served within 14 days of the court’s action (FRCP 12(a)(4)(A)) or within 14 days of the court granting the motion for a more definite statement (FRCP 12(a)(4)(B)).

FRCP 12(b) How To Present Defenses

A party can present a defense by asserting any of the following defenses:

• lack of subject-matter jurisdiction (FRCP 12(b)(1))
• lack of personal jurisdiction (FRCP 12(b)(2))
• improper venue (FRCP 12(b)(3))
• insufficient process (FRCP 12(b)(4))
• insufficient service of process (FRCP 12(b)(5))
• failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted (FRCP 12(b)(6))
• failure to join a party under Rule 19 (FRCP 12(b)(7))

FRCP 12(c) Motion for Judgment on Pleadings

Once the pleadings are closed and without delaying the trial, a party can request a judgment on the pleadings (FRCP 12(c)).

FRCP 12(d) Result of Presenting Matters Outside of Pleadings

A motion presented under Rule12(b)(6) being a failure to state a claim or Rule 12(c) being a motion for judgment on pleadings, the motion is to be treated as one for summary judgment (FRCP 12(d)).

The parties must be given a reasonable chance to present all the material relevant to the motion for the court to assess.

FRCP 12(e) Motion for A More Definitive Statement

If a party’s allegation is vague or ambiguous not allowing the other party to prepare and file a responsive pleading, the other party may file a motion for a more definitive statement to clarify the ambiguous allegations (FRCP 12(e)).

Should the court order a party to provide a more definitive statement, that party must comply within 14 days of the order or within the time allotted by the court.

FRCP 12(f) Motion to Strike

Under FRCP 12(f), either by acting on its own (FRCP 12(f)(1)) or following a motion filed by a party (FRCP 12(f)(2)), the court may strike pleadings that are insufficient, redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous.

FRCP 12(g) Joining Motions

The court may joint a motion under Rule 12 with another motion (FRCP 12(g)(1)).

Wen a party raises a motion under this rule, it must now make any other motions under this rule raising a defense or objection that it could have raised but failed to do so.

FRCP 12(h) Waiving and Preserving Certain Defenses

A party wavies his or her defenses by omitting it from the motion (FRCP 12(h)(1)(A)) or by failing to make it by motion under this rule (FRCP 12(h)(1)(B)(i)) or includes it in a responsive pleading or in an amendment allowed under Rule 12(a)(1) as a matter of course (FRCP 12(h)(1)(B)(ii)).

The failure to state a claim upon which relief is to be granted by the court or to join a person required or even to state a legal defense to a claim can be raised in any pleadings allowed under Rule 7(a) (FRCP 12(h)(2)(A)), by motion under Rule 12(c) (FRCP 12(h)(2)(B)), or at trial FRCP 12(h)(2)(C)).

The court can also dismiss an action at any time it determines that it does not have subject-matter jurisdiction (FRCP 12(h)(3)).

FRCP 12(i) Hearing Before Trial

Any defense listed in Rule 12(b)(1) to Rule 12(b)(7) and for motions under Rule 12(c) will be heard by the court and decided before trial unless the court specifically defers the matter to trial (FRCP 12(i)).

FRCP Rule 12 Takeaways 

So there you have it folks!

What are the legal implications of FRCP 12?

How does FRCP 12 work?

In essence, FRCP 12 is a federal rule of civil procedure providing for different types of defenses and objections that a party may raise in the context of a lawsuit.

FRCP 12 covers things like the time when a responsive pleading must be served by a party, how to present a defense, asking for more details on vague allegations, striking allegations that are vague, joining different motions, waiving defenses, and more.

Anyone involved in a civil proceeding where the federal civil procedure rules apply must carefully consider the implications of FRCP 12.

Remember, this article is intended to give you general information about FRCP Rule 12.

If you are involved in a lawsuit and need legal advice, be sure to consult with a qualified trial attorney or litigation lawyer who can provide you with competent and qualified advice.

Good luck!

Let’s look at a summary of our findings.

Understanding FRCP 12

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