Civil procedure
Motion to Dismiss
A motion to dismiss asks the court to throw out some or all of a case without reaching the facts, usually because the complaint is legally defective.
The most common version argues that even if everything in the complaint is true, it does not state a claim the law recognizes. Others attack the court's jurisdiction, the venue, or the way the defendant was served. In criminal cases, the equivalent motion attacks the indictment itself.
Deciding it does not involve weighing evidence. The judge accepts the complaint's factual allegations as true and asks whether they add up to a legal claim, which is why so many are granted with leave to amend rather than for good.
It is also the most common reason a case pauses. Discovery frequently waits while the motion is pending, so a docket that goes quiet for four months after a defendant appears usually has one of these sitting under submission.
How it appears on a docket
MOTION to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim filed by Acme Logistics, Inc. Response due 12/1/2025. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum of Law)
Governing rule
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)
Related terms
- Rule 12(b)(6) — Rule 12(b)(6) is the provision that lets a defendant seek dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
- Complaint — A complaint is the document that starts a civil lawsuit, naming the parties, telling the court why it has jurisdiction, and laying out the claims.
More on civil procedure
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where motion to dismiss actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.