failure to state a claim
Failure to state a claim is a defense asserting that even if all the factual allegations in a complaint are true, they are insufficient to establish a cause of action and the case should therefore be dismissed .
In a federal civil action , this defense is raised via a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss .
Before the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure , a failure to state a claim defense was known as a demurrer .
[Last reviewed in December of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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