RULE 12. DEFENSES AND OBJECTIONS.

1. A Defendant shall serve his Answer within thirty (30) days after the service of the Complaint and Summons upon him.  Any party served with a pleading stating a counterclaim or crossclaim against him shall serve an Answer within twenty (20) days after service of the Answer, or if a reply is ordered by the Court within twenty (20) days after service of the Order unless modified by the Court.  The service of any motion permitted under Rule 12 alters these periods of time as follows unless a different time is fixed by order of the Court:
   1. If the Court denies the motion or postpones a decision until the trial on the merits, the responsive pleadings shall be served within ten (10) days after notice of the Court’s action.
   2. If the Court grants a motion for a more definite statement, the responsive pleading shall be served within ten (10) days after the service of the more definite statement.
   3. If an appeal is taken from an Order sustaining a motion to dismiss and such Order is thereafter reversed, the responsive pleading shall be served within twenty (20) days after the judgment or Order of reversal is filed in the trial Court.
2. Every defense to a claim for relief in any pleading whether a Complaint, Counterclaim, Crossclaim, or Third Party Claim shall be asserted in the responsive pleading if one is required, except that the following defenses may at the option of the pleader be made prior to the filing of a responsive pleading my motion, namely, lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, lack of jurisdiction over the person, insufficiency of process, insufficiency of service of process, failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, failure to join a party under Rule 19.  If the Court is presented a motion for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and matters outside the pleadings are presented to the Court and not excluded, the Court may treat the motion as one for summary judgment, if all parties are provided a reasonable opportunity to present all material pertinent to such motion.
3. After the pleadings are closed but within such time as to not delay trial, any party may move for judgment on the pleadings.  If during a hearing for judgment on the pleadings, matters outside the pleadings are presented and not excluded by the Court, the Court may treat the motion as one for summary judgment and dispose of the same in that fashion if all parties had been given a reasonable opportunity to present any material pertinent to such a motion.
4. Any of the defenses raised either by pleading or by motion and listed in Rule 12 (a), (b), (c), shall be heard and determined before trial upon application of one of the parties unless the Court orders such hearings to be deferred until the time of trial.
5. If a pleading to which a responsive pleading is permitted is so vague or ambiguous that the opposing party cannot reasonably be required to frame a responsive pleading, he may move for a more definite statement before filing a responsive pleading.  The motion shall point out the defects complained of and details desired.  If the motion is granted and the Order of the Court is not obeyed within ten (10) days after notice of the Order or within such other time as the Court may fix, the Court may strike the pleading to which the motion was directed or make such other Order as is deemed appropriate.
6. Upon a motion made by a party before responding to a pleading, or if no responsive pleading is permitted upon motion made by a party within twenty (20) days after service of the pleading upon him or upon the Court’s own initiative at any time, the Court may order stricken from any pleading any insufficient defends or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.
7. A defense of lack of jurisdiction over the person, insufficiency of process, or insufficiency of service of process is waived if not raised pursuant to motion under Rule 12 or if not included in a responsive pleading or an amendment thereto as permitted or allowed by these rules.  A defense of failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, a defense to join an indispensable party, or an objection of failure to state a legal defense claim may be raised at the trial on the merits even though not previously raised under Rule 12 or on a responsive pleading.  Whenever it appears by suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the Court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, the Court shall dismiss the action.