Which defense is waived if not raised in the defendant's first Rule 12(b) motion?

• A. Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
• B. Lack of personal jurisdiction.
• C. Improper venue.
• D. Failure to join a required party.

Answer: (C)

Under Rule 12, defenses to a complaint must be raised early in a single Rule 12(b) motion, otherwise they’re waived. Improper venue is the defense among the listed options that is waived if you don’t raise it in that first motion. The reason is to prevent players from delaying resolution by waiting to see how the case develops before challenging the forum. If the court would be more appropriate in another district or venue, that issue needs to be addressed upfront so the case can be in the right place from the start.

Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and lack of personal jurisdiction are not treated the same way; they can be raised later if they weren’t included in the initial motion, and failure to join a required party is governed by a different rule set (Rule 19) and isn’t the same waiver context as a Rule 12(b) defense. The key takeaway is that improper venue is the defense that’s waived if not raised in the first Rule 12(b) motion.