Yeazell,
pp. 225-228: Challenging Federal Subject Matter Jurisdiction
If
you’re going to challenge federal question jurisdiction, you may attack either
the jurisdiction (with a Rule 12(b)(1)
motion) or the claim (with a Rule 12(b)(6)
motion). But even if you don’t do either
of these, you haven’t necessarily waived jurisdiction because the court can
bring up the issue of subject matter jurisdiction on its own. Recall that subject matter jurisdiction is
the most favored defense.
Why
is so different from personal jurisdiction, which is super duper easy to waive? I think Steve suggests that personal
jurisdiction deals with the power of courts over individuals, which is
an issue only as big as one person and their rights, while subject matter
jurisdiction deals with the limitation of the power of the federal judiciary,
which is a Big Issue that affects everybody.
Can
you collaterally attack subject matter jurisdiction? Probably not.
Dismissing
a case for lack of personal jurisdiction could have a much bigger effect on a plaintiff’s
chance of further action than dismissing for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction, but the Supreme Court has said that federal courts may use their
discretion in picking which basis to use for dismissal.