Response To The Complaint

A. The Time to Respond

FRCP 12(a) requires that most defendants respond to a complaint within twenty days. The United States government has 60 days to respond, ten days for motions.

B. Motions Against the Complaint

The following technicalities can invalidate a complaint and serve the function of alerting the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney drafting the complaint to write precisely. If a motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(6) is granted by the court, the plaintiff can choose between two avenues: abandon the action or appeal (i., the plaintiff is not “locked-in” if a motion to dismiss is granted and can still appeal).

1. Lack of subject matter jurisdiction;

2. Lack of in personam jurisdiction;

3. Improper venue;

4. Insufficiency of process;

5. Insufficiency of service of process;

6. Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and

7. Failure to join a necessary party.