The Minnesota motion to dismiss: six grounds, made before pleading

Minnesota's Rule 12 is compact and close to the federal model, with one important local feature that has nothing to do with the rule itself: in Minnesota, service starts the case, so the answer clock can be running before any court file exists.

Everything else follows the familiar shape — six grounds, made before pleading, with a shortened period if the motion fails.

Twenty-one days from service

Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.01:

When Presented Defendant shall serve an answer within 21 days after service of the summons upon that defendant unless the court directs otherwise pursuant to Rule 4.043. A party served with a pleading stating a cross-claim against that party shall serve an answer thereto within 21 days after the service upon that party. The plaintiff shall serve a reply to a counterclaim in the answer within 21 days after service of the answer or, if a reply is ordered by the court, within 21 days after service of the order, unless the order otherwise directs. The service of a motion permitted under this rule alters these periods of time as follows unless a different time is fixed by order of the court: (1) If the court denies the motion or postpones its disposition until the trial on the merits, the responsive pleading shall be served within 14 days after service of notice of the court's action; (2) if the court grants a motion for a more definite statement, the responsive pleading shall be served within 14 days after the service of the more definite statement.

Twenty-one days after service of the summons — and note the verb throughout: serve, not file. Minnesota's civil practice is built around service, and Rule 5.04 keeps most papers out of the court file altogether.

A denied motion produces 14 days, not a fresh 21.

The Minnesota context worth knowing

Two features of Minnesota practice shape a Rule 12 motion in ways the rule does not say:

The action was commenced by service. Under Rule 3.01, service commences the case — there may be no file and no case number when your answer is due.

The plaintiff has a year to file. Rule 5.04(a) deems an action dismissed with prejudice if it is not filed within one year of commencement, absent a stipulation signed inside that year.

Both are covered in commencing a Minnesota action, and the second is worth checking on any older matter: a case that was never filed may already be over.

The six grounds

Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02:

How Presented Every defense, in law or fact, to a claim for relief in any pleading, whether a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, shall be asserted in the responsive pleading thereto if one is required, except that the following defenses may at the option of the pleader be made by motion:

(a) lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter; (b) lack of jurisdiction over the person; (c) insufficiency of process; (d) insufficiency of service of process; (e) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and (f) failure to join a party pursuant to Rule 19.

Six, not seven — Minnesota does not include improper venue in this list.

Given that Minnesota service can happen without a filing, (c) and (d) deserve a closer look than they usually get. Service is the act that starts the case, so a defect in it is a defect in the commencement itself.

Before pleading, and combining is safe

The rule continues:

A motion making any of these defenses shall be made before pleading if a further pleading is permitted. No defense or objection is waived by being joined with one or more defenses or objections in a responsive pleading or motion. If a pleading sets forth a claim for relief to which the adverse party is not required to serve a responsive pleading, the adverse party may assert at the trial any defense in law or fact to that claim for relief.

Before pleading. Answer first and the motion route is gone, though the defences themselves generally survive in the answer.

Joining waives nothing — so there is no reason to hold anything back, and good reason not to.

Conversion

The same paragraph:

If, on a motion asserting the defense that the pleading fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56.

Only the failure-to-state-a-claim ground converts. If it happens, see responding to summary judgment in Minnesota.

Rule 12.03 applies the same conversion rule to judgment on the pleadings, available "After the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial."

You can insist on an early ruling

Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.04:

Preliminary Hearing The defenses and relief enumerated in Rules 12.02 and 12.03, whether made in a pleading or by motion, shall be heard and determined before trial on application of any party unless the court orders that the hearing and determination thereof be deferred until the trial.

"Shall be heard and determined before trial on application of any party." A defence pleaded in the answer rather than raised by motion can still be brought on for decision — which is the answer for a defendant who answered first and later wants a ruling.

How Minnesota compares

A short checklist

1. Diarise 21 days from service of the summons, not from any filing.
2. Move before pleading if you want the motion route.
3. Look hard at service. In Minnesota, service is what commenced the case, so (c) and (d) attack the foundation.
4. Check whether the case has been filed at all, and when it was commenced — Rule 5.04(a) dismisses an unfiled case with prejudice at one year.
5. Join every ground. Nothing is waived by combining.
6. Diarise 14 days from notice if the motion is denied.
7. Expect only the failure-to-state-a-claim ground to convert on outside material.
8. Use Rule 12.04 if you want a defence in your answer decided before trial.

Where these rules live

• Minn. R. Civ. P. 3 — Commencement of the Action
• Minn. R. Civ. P. 4 — Process
• Minn. R. Civ. P. 5 — Service and Filing of Pleadings and Other Documents
• Minn. R. Civ. P. 12 — Defenses and Objections
• Minn. R. Civ. P. 19 — Joinder of Persons Needed for Just Adjudication
• Minn. R. Civ. P. 56 — Summary Judgment

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the standard for dismissal under Rule 12.02(e) is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.