Rule 12.Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing

Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 14, 2026

In one sentenceRule 12 sets the deadlines for responding to a complaint and lists the defenses — including failure to state a claim under 12(b)(6), DC's version of a motion to dismiss — a defendant can raise by motion, along with how those defenses can be waived, converted into a summary judgment motion, or preserved for trial.

Full Text of Rule 12

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

(a) TIME TO SERVE A RESPONSIVE PLEADING. Unless another time is specified by an applicable statute, the time for serving a responsive pleading is as follows:

(1) In General.

(A) A defendant must serve an answer within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint.

(B) A party must serve an answer to a counterclaim or crossclaim within 21 days after being served with the pleading that states the counterclaim or crossclaim.

(C) A party must serve a reply to an answer within 21 days after being served with an order to reply, unless the order specifies a different time.

(2) The United States or the District of Columbia and the Agencies, Officers, or Employees of Either Sued in an Official Capacity. The United States or the District of Columbia or an agency, officer, or employee of either sued only in an official capacity must serve an answer to a complaint, counterclaim, or crossclaim within 60 days after service on the United States attorney (in suits involving the United States) or the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (in suits involving the District of Columbia).

(3) United States or District of Columbia Officers or Employees Sued in an Individual Capacity. A United States or District of Columbia officer or employee sued in an individual capacity for an act or omission occurring in connection with the duties performed on the United States’ or the District of Columbia’s behalf must serve an answer to a complaint, counterclaim, or crossclaim within 60 days after service on the officer or employee or service on the United States attorney (in suits involving the United States) or the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (in suits involving the District of Columbia), whichever is later.

(4) Effect of a Motion. Unless the court sets a different time, serving a motion under this rule alters these periods as follows:

(A) if the court denies the motion or postpones its disposition until trial, the responsive pleading must be served within 14 days after notice of the court's action; or

(B) if the court grants a motion for a more definite statement, the responsive pleading must be served within 14 days after the more definite statement is served.

(5) Entry of Default. Unless the time to respond to the complaint has been extended as provided in Rule 55(a)(3) or the court orders otherwise, failure to comply with the requirements of this rule will result in the entry of a default by the clerk or the court sua sponte.

(b) HOW TO PRESENT DEFENSES. Every defense to a claim for relief in any pleading must be asserted in the responsive pleading if one is required. But a party may assert the following defenses by motion:

(1) lack of subject-matter jurisdiction;

(2) lack of personal jurisdiction;

(3) [Omitted];

(4) insufficient process;

(5) insufficient service of process;

(6) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted;

(7) failure to join a party under Rule 19. A motion asserting any of these defenses must be made before pleading if a responsive pleading is allowed. If a pleading sets out a claim for relief that does not require a responsive pleading, an opposing party may assert at trial any defense to that claim. No defense or objection is waived by joining it with one or more other defenses or objections in a responsive pleading or in a motion.

(c) MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS. After the pleadings are closed— but early enough not to delay trial—a party may move for judgment on the pleadings.

(d) RESULTS OF PRESENTING MATTERS OUTSIDE THE PLEADINGS. If, on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c), matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56. All parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material that is pertinent to the motion.

(e) MOTION FOR A MORE DEFINITE STATEMENT. A party may move for a more definite statement of a pleading to which a responsive pleading is allowed but which is so vague or ambiguous that the party cannot reasonably prepare a response. The motion must be made before filing a responsive pleading and must point out the defects complained of and the details desired. If the court orders a more definite statement and the order is not obeyed within 14 days after notice of the order or within the time the court sets, the court may strike the pleading or issue any other appropriate order.

(f) MOTION TO STRIKE. The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter. The court may act:

(1) on its own; or

(2) on motion made by a party either before responding to the pleading or, if a response is not allowed, within 21 days after being served with the pleading.

(g) JOINING MOTIONS.

(1) Right to Join. A motion under this rule may be joined with any other motion allowed by this rule.

(2) Limitations on Further Motions. Except as provided in Rule 12(h)(2) or (3), a party that makes a motion under this rule must not make another motion under this rule raising a defense or objection that was available to the party but omitted from its earlier motion.

(h) WAIVING AND PRESERVING CERTAIN DEFENSES.

(1) When Some Are Waived. A party waives any defense listed in Rule 12(b)(2)–(5) by:

(A) omitting it from a motion in the circumstances described in Rule 12(g)(2); or

(B) failing to either:

(i) make it by motion under this rule; or (ii) include it in a responsive pleading or in an amendment allowed by Rule 15(a)(1) as a matter of course. (2) When to Raise Others. Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, to join a person required by Rule 19(b), or to state a legal defense to a claim may be raised:

(A) in any pleading allowed or ordered under Rule 7(a);

(B) by a motion under Rule 12(c); or

(C) at trial. (3) Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction. If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.

(i) HEARING BEFORE TRIAL. If a party so moves, any defense listed in Rule 12(b)(1)– (7)—whether made in a pleading or by motion—and a motion under Rule 12(c) must be heard and decided before trial unless the court orders a deferral until trial.

End

Comments

2025 Amendments:

Section (a) of this rule has been amended consistent with the 2024 amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, which was amended to make clear that a statute that specifies another time supersedes the times to serve a responsive pleading set by subsections (a)(2) and (3).

2017 Amendments:

This rule is identical to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, as amended in 2007 and 2009, except for: 1) the substitution of “applicable statute” for “federal statute” in subsection (a)(1); 2) the deletion of inapplicable federal limitation periods in subsection (a)(1)(A); 3) the addition of references to “the District of Columbia” in subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3); 4) the retention of subsection (a)(5) regarding the automatic entry of default against a defendant who does not timely respond to the complaint; and 5) the omission of subsection (b)(3), which deals with improper venue and is not applicable in the District of Columbia.

Comment:

SCR-Civil 12(a) is rearranged to reflect the format established by the federal rule revisions of December 1993. Federal limitation periods are altered to comport with those in the existing Superior Court rule. Additionally, a paragraph (5) has been added to preserve the existing Superior Court rule of automatic entry of default against a defendant who does not timely respond to the complaint.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 12 is where a defendant in DC Superior Court decides how to respond to a complaint — and where DC's version of a motion to dismiss lives. Rule 12(a) sets the basic clock: 21 days to answer a complaint after being served, 21 days to answer a counterclaim or crossclaim, and 21 days to reply to an answer once the court orders a reply. The United States, the District of Columbia government, and their officers or employees sued in an official capacity get 60 days instead. Filing a motion under this rule resets those deadlines — if the court denies the motion, the answer is due 14 days after notice of that ruling, and if the court orders a more definite statement, the answer is due 14 days after that statement is served. And unlike the federal system, DC's rule keeps an older, distinctly local backstop: missing the deadline to respond can result in the clerk or the court entering a default without anyone having to ask.

Rule 12(b) lists the defenses a defendant can raise by motion instead of waiting to plead them in an answer: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficient process, insufficient service of process, failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and failure to join a required party under Rule 19. That defense — usually called a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim — is DC's equivalent of the federal 12(b)(6) motion, and it keeps that same subsection number here. Notice what is missing: DC's list has no defense for improper venue, because the Superior Court is the District's one trial-level civil court and venue in the federal sense is not an issue here. Any of these motions must be filed before the responsive pleading, and raising several defenses together in one motion or answer never waives any of them.

If a party moves for failure to state a claim, or moves for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) after the pleadings close, and the court looks at material beyond the pleadings themselves without excluding it, Rule 12(d) converts that motion into one for summary judgment under Rule 56 — with both sides then given a fair chance to submit everything relevant to that broader motion. Rule 12(e) and (f) offer narrower tools: a motion for a more definite statement when a pleading is too vague to answer, and a motion to strike an insufficient defense or scandalous material from a pleading.

Rule 12(g) and (h) police how long these defenses stay available. A party generally cannot hold a defense in reserve and raise it in a second motion after leaving it out of the first. Lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficient process, and insufficient service of process are waived if not raised either by an early motion or in the answer itself — but failure to state a claim, failure to join a required party, and a challenge to the court's subject-matter jurisdiction survive much longer; the first two can be raised in a later pleading, by a Rule 12(c) motion, or even at trial, and a subject-matter jurisdiction problem can surface at any point and requires dismissal whenever the court notices it. Rule 12(i) lets a party insist that any of these defenses be heard and decided before trial rather than folded into the trial itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DC's version of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim?

It's the motion described in Rule 12(b)(6) — the same subsection number used in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A defendant raises it before answering, arguing that even accepting the complaint's factual allegations, they do not add up to a legal claim the court can grant relief on.

How long does a defendant have to answer a complaint in DC Superior Court?

Rule 12(a)(1)(A) gives a defendant 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint. The United States, the District of Columbia, and their agencies or officers or employees sued in an official capacity instead get 60 days under Rule 12(a)(2), and a United States or DC officer or employee personally sued for an act performed in the course of federal or DC duties gets the same 60 days under Rule 12(a)(3).

Does DC Rule 12 let a defendant move to dismiss for improper venue?

No. Rule 12(b) omits the federal defense of improper venue entirely, because the Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the District's single trial-level civil court, so there is no separate venue to contest the way there is among federal districts.

What happens if the court looks at evidence outside the complaint on a motion to dismiss?

Rule 12(d) converts the motion into one for summary judgment under Rule 56 whenever the court considers material outside the pleadings and does not exclude it, and both sides must then get a reasonable chance to submit everything relevant to that broader motion.

Can I raise a lack of personal jurisdiction defense at any point in the case?

No. Rule 12(h)(1) treats lack of personal jurisdiction, along with insufficient process and insufficient service of process, as waived if it is left out of an early motion under this rule or out of the answer. By contrast, failure to state a claim, failure to join a required party, and a challenge to the court's subject-matter jurisdiction can be raised much later, including at trial.

Source & verification. Rule text and official Comments are reproduced verbatim from the District of Columbia Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Last verified July 14, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: dc motion to dismiss ruledc mtd rule 12b6 equivalentdc failure to state a claimdc answer deadline 21 daysdc motion for judgment on the pleadingsdc lack of personal jurisdiction waived