The Motion to Dismiss
The defendant usually responds to the plaintiff’s complaint by filing an answer as provided in Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a). (For an example, see the answer to the Schulansky complaint, Chapter 33.) However, the rules provide a second option in limited circumstances: If the defendant has certain preliminary objections to the suit, she may avoid answering immediately by filing a motion to dismiss the complaint instead under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b). See Jones’s motion to dismiss in the Schulansky case, infra, p. 693.