Since a plaintiff can ask the court’s permission to amend a complaint when faced with a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a defendant has to determine if there is a likelihood of succeeding on the motion before incurring the time and expense of going for the jugular early in the case. The court may dismiss several causes of action and maybe even the entire case. Yet, the potential upside of filing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion – dismissal – is very appealing. Filing a motion to dismiss should not be an automatic response to a sloppily drafted complaint, however. Typically, this motion is filed at the beginning of the case and in lieu of filing an answer to the complaint, and can be a good strategical move to get the judge involved early on. Particular circumstances may justify the filing of a motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). “The purpose of the rule is to allow the court to eliminate actions that are fatally flawed in their legal premise and destined to fail, and thus spare the litigants the burdens of unnecessary pretrial and trial activity.” Advanced Cardiovascular Sys., Inc.
Rule 12(b)(6) provides that a motion to dismiss a complaint may be filed for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Id. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which includes the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Particular emphasis is placed on decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court, and the U.S. In this post we explore the standards that govern motions to dismiss a federal court complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Fed.