Rule 12.Defenses and objections: when and how presented; motion for judgment on the pleadings; consolidating motions; waiving defenses; hearings before trial

Title III: Pleadings; Motions; Scheduling · Last amended July 1, 2018 · Last verified July 14, 2026

In one sentenceRule 12 sets deadlines for responsive pleadings, lists eight defenses a party may raise by motion (including Idaho's own ground of another pending action), and governs motions to dismiss, for judgment on the pleadings, for a more definite statement, and to strike, along with the rules for waiving or preserving those defenses.

Full Text of Rule 12

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

(a) Time to serve a responsive pleading.

(1) In general. Unless another time is specified by rule or statute, the time for serving a responsive pleading is as follows:

(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 21 days after being served with an order to reply, unless the court specifies a different time.

(2) 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.

(b) How to present defenses. Every defense, in law or fact, to a claim for relief in any pleading, whether a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim or third party claim, 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) improper venue;

(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; and

(8) another action pending between the same parties for the same cause.

If a pleading states a claim for relief that does not require a responsive pleading, an opposing party may assert at trial any defense to that claim.

(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) Result 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 or by filing a special appearance under Rule 4.1.

(2) Limitation 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 subsections (b)(2), (4) and (5) by failing to assert it by motion before filing a responsive pleading or filing any other motion, except a motion for an extension of time to answer or otherwise appear or a motion to disqualify a judge under Rule 40(a) or (b).

(2) When to raise others. Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, to join a person required by Rule 19 or 19.1, a defense of another action pending between the same parties for the same cause, 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

(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.

(4) Improper venue. An objection to improper venue is waived unless a timely motion for proper venue is made as provided in Rule 40.1.

(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

Amendment History

(Adopted March 1, 2016, effective July 1, 2016; amended September 9, 2016, effective September 9, 2016; amended April 25, 2018, effective July 1, 2018.)

Plain-English Summary

Rule 12 starts with the clock: a defendant generally has 21 days after service of the summons and complaint to answer, and similar 21-day windows apply to answering a counterclaim, crossclaim, or a court-ordered reply. Filing certain motions under this rule resets that clock, giving the responding party 14 days after the court rules or after a more definite statement is served.

The heart of the rule is subsection (b), which lists eight defenses a party can raise by motion instead of waiting to plead them: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process, insufficient service of process, failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, failure to join a required party, and, distinctly under Idaho practice, another action already pending between the same parties over the same cause. That last ground has no federal counterpart and lets a party point the court to a duplicate lawsuit already underway. A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, and a post-pleadings motion for judgment on the pleadings, both convert into summary judgment motions if the parties put outside evidence before the court and the court does not exclude it.

The rule also polices timing and waiver. Most Rule 12(b) defenses have to be raised in a party's first responsive motion or pleading or they are lost, though failure to state a claim, failure to join a required party, the pending-action defense, and lack of subject-matter jurisdiction get more forgiving treatment and can surface later, even at trial for some of them. A party generally cannot bring a second Rule 12 motion raising a defense that was available but left out of the first one. Separate provisions cover motions for a more definite statement when a pleading is too vague to answer, and motions to strike improper material from a pleading, and the rule directs that any of the listed defenses, if a party asks, be resolved before trial rather than saved for trial itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim?

It is a motion asking the court to dismiss a claim because, even taking the alleged facts as true, they do not add up to a legal claim the court can grant relief on. Rule 12(b)(6) lists this among the defenses a party can raise by motion instead of waiting to answer.

How is an improper venue motion different from a personal jurisdiction motion?

They address different problems. Improper venue under Rule 12(b)(3) argues the case was filed in the wrong court location even though the court could otherwise hear it; lack of personal jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(2) argues the court has no authority over the particular defendant at all. Both must generally be raised in a party's first motion or pleading or they are waived, per subsection (h) and Rule 40.1.

What does "another action pending between the same parties for the same cause" mean, and why is it in Idaho's rule but not the federal rule?

This is Rule 12(b)(8), a ground unique to Idaho practice with no equivalent in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It lets a party move to dismiss when the same parties are already litigating the same underlying dispute in another pending case, avoiding duplicate lawsuits proceeding side by side.

Can I bring a second motion under Rule 12 if I forgot a defense the first time?

Generally no. Subsection (g) bars a party from making a later Rule 12 motion to raise a defense that was available but omitted from an earlier one, with limited exceptions preserved in subsection (h) for things like failure to state a claim, failure to join a required party, subject-matter jurisdiction, and the pending-action defense.

What happens if I attach outside evidence to a motion to dismiss?

Under Rule 12(d), if the parties present matters outside the pleadings on a Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c) motion and the court does not exclude that material, the motion converts into a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56, and everyone must get a fair chance to respond to that outside material.

Source & verification. Rule text are reproduced verbatim from the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Supreme Court of Idaho. Last verified July 14, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: motion to dismissMTD12(b)(6) motionfailure to state a claimimproper venue motionlack of personal jurisdiction motionanother action pending