Pleadings and Rule 12 Motions: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
25 flashcard terms for Civil Procedure Topic 5, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards, or test yourself with the 15-question quiz — free, no account needed.
The original Federal Rules philosophy that a complaint need only alert the defendant to the nature of the claim, leaving factual development to discovery rather than to the pleadings.
Rule 8(a)(2)
A pleading must contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, along with a jurisdictional statement and a demand for relief sought.
Conley v. Gibson
The 1957 no set of facts formulation, which permitted dismissal only if no facts consistent with the complaint could support relief; it was retired by later plausibility decisions.
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
The 2007 antitrust decision requiring enough factual matter to render the claim plausible, since parallel conduct equally consistent with lawful competition does not suggest agreement.
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
The 2009 decision extending plausibility to all civil cases and prescribing a two-step method that strips legal conclusions before assessing the remaining well-pleaded facts.
Plausibility standard
The complaint must plead facts allowing a reasonable inference of liability; possibility is not enough, and the court draws on judicial experience and common sense in judging the claim.
Conclusory allegations
Statements that merely restate the elements of a claim or offer labels; under Iqbal they receive no presumption of truth and cannot by themselves defeat a motion to dismiss.
Rule 9(b)
Fraud and mistake must be pleaded with particularity, requiring the who, what, when, where, and how of the alleged misconduct, though intent may be averred generally.
Rule 11
By signing a filing an attorney certifies that it is not presented for an improper purpose, that legal contentions are warranted, and that factual contentions have evidentiary support.
Safe harbor provision
A Rule 11 motion must be served on the opponent and withheld from the court for twenty-one days, giving the offender a chance to withdraw or correct the challenged filing.
Rule 12(b)(6)
The motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, which tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint while accepting well-pleaded facts as true.
Rule 12(b)(2)
The motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, one of the disfavored defenses that is waived unless raised in the first Rule 12 motion or responsive pleading.
Rule 12(b)(1)
The motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, which unlike the other Rule 12 defenses may be raised at any time and is never waived by the parties.
Rule 12(g) consolidation
A party making a Rule 12 motion must join all then-available Rule 12 defenses, so omitting an available defense forfeits the right to raise it in a later motion.
Rule 12(e)
The motion for a more definite statement, available where a pleading is so vague or ambiguous that the responding party cannot reasonably frame a response to it.
Rule 12(f)
The motion to strike redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter from a pleading, a rarely granted request that courts view with disfavor as a delay tactic.
Rule 12(c)
The motion for judgment on the pleadings, filed after the pleadings close, which applies the same legal sufficiency standard used on a motion to dismiss.
Answer
The defendant's responsive pleading, which must admit or deny each allegation and state any affirmative defenses; a failure to deny an allegation other than damages admits it.
General denial
A blanket denial of everything in the complaint, permissible only when the defendant in good faith intends to contest all allegations including jurisdiction, so it is rarely appropriate.
Affirmative defense
A matter such as release, res judicata, statute of limitations, or assumption of risk that defeats liability even if the plaintiff's allegations are true, and that Rule 8(c) requires be pleaded.
Rule 15(a) amendment
A party may amend once as of course within a short window after serving or being served with a responsive pleading, and afterwards only with consent or the court's leave freely given.
Foman v. Davis
Leave to amend should be granted absent undue delay, bad faith, repeated failure to cure, undue prejudice to the opponent, or futility of the proposed amendment.
Relation back
Under Rule 15(c) an amendment adding a claim arising from the same conduct, transaction, or occurrence is treated as filed on the original date, saving it from the limitations period.
Relation back for new parties
Adding a defendant relates back only if that party received notice within the Rule 4(m) service period and knew or should have known the suit would have been brought against it but for a mistake.
Krupski v. Costa Crociere
The 2010 case holding that relation back turns on what the new defendant knew or should have known about the plaintiff's mistake, not on the plaintiff's own diligence.