{"id":6831,"date":"2009-08-27T08:10:07","date_gmt":"2009-08-27T13:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=6831"},"modified":"2009-08-27T11:44:42","modified_gmt":"2009-08-27T16:44:42","slug":"ashcroft-v-iqbal-and-the-pleading-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2009\/08\/ashcroft-v-iqbal-and-the-pleading-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashcroft v. Iqbal and the Pleading Standard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Law professors teaching Civil Procedure this fall may have reason to revise their lecture notes covering the pleading standard in federal courts for the first time in a long time.\u00a0 This pleading standard, as articulated in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) Rule 8(a)<\/a>, has presented a very low hurdle for plaintiffs since the Supreme Court addressed the issue in Conley v. Gibson<\/a> in 1957.\u00a0 That is, perhaps, until Ashcroft v. Iqbal<\/a> , a Supreme Court detainee case decided this spring that may end up significantly heightening the pleading standard for federal civil courts.<\/p>\n

Depending on where you look, you can find members of the legal community making different predictions of where the courts will land on Iqbal.\u00a0 Some are dismissing the significance<\/a> of the case, and others are declaring it a major obstacle for plaintiffs and a coup for corporate defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The federal courts have begun the task of interpreting Iqbal.\u00a0 For instance, a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss based on the Iqbal standard was successful in a lawsuit claiming that a school’s music program violated free exercise and establishment clause<\/a> by choosing songs that were religious in nature for students to perform.\u00a0 And, Judge Posner recently wrote an opinion<\/a> that distinguished the case at hand from Iqbal and suggested that didn\u2019t govern, even though it has been believed to apply to all federal civil cases.<\/p>\n

It appears Congress is ready to jump into the fray as well.\u00a0 Senator Arlen Specter introduced the Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2009<\/a> in late July, which, in its current state, would reinstate the Conley standard.\u00a0 While at first glance, the proposed legislation does not seem to present a separation of powers problem, it remains to be seen whether or not this bill has legs enough to make it out of committee.<\/p>\n

Even if we do not end up with a pleading standard radically different from that established in Conley, we should get used to hearing the name \u201cIqbal\u201d as part of our common legal vocabulary for a while.\u00a0 In the first two months after the Iqbal decision was handed down, the case was cited 500 times in federal courts<\/a>.\u00a0 It seems a FRCP 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for \u201cfailure to state a claim upon which relief will be granted\u201d citing Iqbal will be on the checklist for the defense counsel of every federal civil case from here on out.<\/p>\n

While this appears to be the first post on Marquette Law School\u2019s Faculty Blog discussing the implications of Iqbal and the pleading standard, it is the topic of a healthy discussion in the legal community right now.\u00a0 My interest in Ashcroft v. Iqbal grew out of my final paper assignment for my Law and Rhetoric<\/a> course in the first summer session and it has been fun to watch the analysis and law begin to develop over the past few weeks.\u00a0 I\u2019ve simplified the case and issues for the sake of presenting in the blog format, but welcome any comments or discussion in the forum below or offline by email \u00a0if folks are interested.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Law professors teaching Civil Procedure this fall may have reason to revise their lecture notes covering the pleading standard in federal courts for the first time in a long time.\u00a0 This pleading standard, as articulated in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) Rule 8(a), has presented a very low hurdle for plaintiffs since the 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