Ninth Circuit Holds That Jurisdicitonal Issues Must Be Resolved Before 12(b)(7) Motion

Resolving an issue of first impression, the Ninth Circuit in Wilbur v. Locke, 423 F.3d 1101 (9th Cir. Sep. 09, 2005) held that all jurisdictional and standing issues should be decided before reaching a Rule 12(b)(7) motion to dismiss for failure to join a Rule 19 party. In this particular case, although the court determined that standing existed and that no other jurisdicitonal bar to the action was present, the court nonetheless concluded that an absent party was indispensable and thus granted the Rule 12(b)(7) motion to dismiss.