Do you ever waive defenses?

• A. Yes. Rule 12 (h) provides that some defenses are waived if not properly asserted
• B. No. All defenses can be raised at any time
• C. Only some defenses can be waived
• D. Defenses cannot be waived in federal court

Answer: (A)

In federal practice, you don’t get to wait and raise several defenses later in the case. Rule 12(h) says that some defenses must be raised early—if you don’t raise them in a pre-answer motion or in your answer, they’re waived. That means yes, defenses can be waived if not properly asserted.

A common way to see this is that defenses like lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, and defects in service or process must be brought up at the outset; if you miss that window, you lose them. There’s an important exception though: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction can be raised at any time, including on appeal. So the idea that “some defenses are waived” is correct, which is why the statement is the best answer.