The Mississippi motion to dismiss: thirty days to answer, ten after a denial
Mississippi procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Mississippi gives a generous 30 days to answer and a tight 10 days afterwards. That asymmetry is the practical point: the time to draft the answer is while the motion is pending.
The deadlines
| Event | Time |
|---|---|
| Answer a complaint | 30 days from service |
| After a denied motion, or a deferral to trial | 10 days |
| After a granted more-definite-statement motion | 10 days |
The seven defenses
Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(b):
the following defenses may at the option of the pleader be made by motion: (1) Lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, (2) Lack of jurisdiction over the person, (3) Improper venue, (4) Insufficiency of process, (5) Insufficiency of service of process, (6) Failure to state a cl
The classic seven, with venue at (3).
Where this connects
Mississippi's post-judgment rule is one of the least forgiving in the country, and it does not read the way a federal practitioner expects. Rule 60(b) allows six months, not a year, and the grounds are renumbered — fraud is (1), and the phrase "excusable neglect" never appears. See setting aside a Mississippi default judgment.
On the discovery side, Rule 37(e) sanctions a party or counsel who fails to cooperate in framing a discovery plan, or who abuses the process in seeking as well as resisting discovery — see the Mississippi motion to compel.
For the answer itself, see responding to a Mississippi complaint. For the dispositive stage, see Mississippi summary judgment.
How Mississippi compares
| Mississippi | Alabama | Tennessee | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to answer | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 21 days |
| After a denied motion | 10 days | 10 days | 15 days | 14 days |
| Enumerated grounds | seven | seven | eight | seven |
| Venue inside the rule | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Relief from judgment | 6 months | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
A short checklist
- Diarise 30 days from service.
- Move before you plead if a further pleading is permitted.
- Put every available ground in one motion. Joining waives nothing.
- Plan for 10 days to answer if the motion is denied — draft it in advance.
- Watch for conversion if you attach material outside the pleadings.
- Remember the back end. Mississippi allows only six months to undo a judgment.
Where these rules live
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 8 — General Rules of Pleading
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 12 — Defenses and Objections
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 15 — Amended and Supplemental Pleadings
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 56 — Summary Judgment
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the standard for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.