Litigation in Federal Court
Pleading
Pleading
Historical Ways to State a Claim
[1] Common Law: Rules Courts
[2] Equitable Pleading: Specialty Courts
[3] Code Pleading: Fact-Based Civil Actions
Notice Pleading — The Modern Era
FRCP 7(a): Only these pleadings are allowed:
[1] The Plaintiff’s complaint
[2] The Defendant’s answer to a complaint
[3-7] Complicated and less-common counter/cross claims
FRCP 8(a): A plaintiff’s pleading must contain:
[1] a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction
[2] a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief
[3] a demand for the relief sought
FRCP 9: Heightened pleading standards for special claims;if the claim is not explicitly listed in FRCP 9 or another statute, no heightened pleading is required.
Notice Pleading 2.0 — Facts and Plausibility
“Twiqbal” Rule: when evaluating the defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under FRCP 12(b)(6), the plaintiff’s complaint must:
[1] Avoid Conclusory Statements: a conclusory statement is generally just a simple recital of the elements of a cause of action without particularized facts to support them (ex. defendant had a duty, defendant breached that duty, and that breach caused the injury to plaintiff); If plaintiff violates this standard, their factual allegations will not be assumed to be true.
[2] State Plausible Claims: the plaintiff’s claims must be the most plausible inference from the facts; if other inferences are equally plausible, the case should be dismissed.
o Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009)