Law Commons^™

Why Twombly Is Good Law (But Poorly Drafted) And Iqbal Will Be Overturned, Luke Meier

Indiana Law Journal

The conventional wisdom with regard to the Supreme Court’s decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal is that these two cases work together to usher in a new era of pleading. This reading of the cases, however, is wrong. In reality, Twombly was a valid application of the uncontroversial principle that a complaint must describe the real-world events on which the suit is based with some degree of factual specificity. The Iqbal opinion, unfortunately, mangled this concept by applying it to a complaint that described the real-world events on which the suit was based with sufficient …

Procedure's Ambiguity, Mark Moller

Indiana Law Journal

By leaving the meaning of a statute—or procedural rule—undecided, ambiguous appellate decisions create space for lower courts to adopt a blend of conflicting approaches, yielding an average result that trims between competing preferences. While compromising in this way may seem to flout basic norms of good judging, this Article shows that opaque “compromise” opinions have plausible normative appeal, given premises about good interpretation often labeled “pluralist.” Judicial pluralists think courts should decide cases in ways interest groups would, hypothetically, accept. To demonstrate the pluralist appeal of opaque decisions, I develop, in turn, two related claims: First, interest groups, under the …

The Costs Of Heightened Pleading, Alexander A. Reinert

Indiana Law Journal

In Conley v. Gibson, the Supreme Court announced its commitment to a liberal pleading regime in federal civil cases, and for decades thereafter was steadfast in resisting ad hoc heightened pleading rules adopted by lower courts. Thus, from 1957 until a few years ago, most litigants could count on surviving a motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim so long as their pleading provided some minimal notice to the defendant of the nature of their claim. Enter Ashcroft v. Iqbal and Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly. Iqbal and Twombly, by many accounts, two-stepped the Court from …

Beyond Common Sense: A Social Psychological Study Of Iqbal's Effect On Claims Of Race Discrimination, Victor D. Quintanilla

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009) from a social psychological perspective, and empirically studies Iqbal’s effect on claims of race discrimination.

In Twombly and then Iqbal, the Court recast Rule 8 from a notice-based rule into a plausibility standard. Under Iqbal, federal judges must evaluate whether each complaint contains sufficient factual matter “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” When doing so, Iqbal requires judges to draw on their “judicial experience and common sense.” Courts apply Iqbal at the pleading stage, before evidence has been …

Eighteen Feet Of Clay: Thoughts On Phantom Rule 4(M), Gene R. Shreve

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of An Omitted Special Finding Of Fact

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Variance Between Pleading And Proof In Indiana Criminal Procedure

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pleading-The Theory Of The Case

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Theory Of The Case, Bernard C. Gavit

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pleading-Appeal And Error Reversal Because Of Erroneous Overruling Of Demurrer

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Legal Conclusions, Bernard C. Gavit

Indiana Law Journal

Reprinted from 16 Minnesota Law Review 378, with the permission of that periodical; read before the Indianapolis Bar Association, Sept. 6, 1933, and the Second District Bar Association, Oct. 6, 1933.

Pleading-Actions For Death Of Minor Child-Damages

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Demurrer To Parts Of Complaint, John D. Welman

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Motions To Make Specific And To Resolve Conclusions, Walter R. Arnold

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pleading-Appeal And Error-Theory Of The Case

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pleading-Appeal And Error-Theory Of The Case

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pleading-Joinder Of Parties And Action

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: A Selection Of Cases On The Law Of Pleading Under Modern Codes, Charles M. Hepburn

Charles Hepburn (1918-1925)

No abstract provided.