Pleading Standards in Mass Tort Cases After Iqbal - Dinsmore ...
Pleading Standards in Mass Tort Cases After Iqbal - Dinsmore ...
Pleading Standards in Mass Tort Cases After Iqbal - Dinsmore ...
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Product Liability<br />
Except as otherwise expressly provided<br />
by an Act of Congress or by an amendment<br />
to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure<br />
which takes effect after the date<br />
of enactment of this Act, a Federal court<br />
shall not dismiss a compla<strong>in</strong>t under rule<br />
12(b)(6) or (e) of the Federal Rules of<br />
Civil Procedure, except under the standards<br />
set forth by the Supreme Court of<br />
the United States <strong>in</strong> Conley v. Gibson, 355<br />
U.S. 41 (1957).<br />
The Senate bill was referred to the Judiciary<br />
Committee <strong>in</strong> July of 2009. The House is<br />
expected to <strong>in</strong>troduce similar legislation.<br />
These measures are, not surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, supported<br />
by the pla<strong>in</strong>tiffs’ bar.<br />
Conclusion<br />
For now, the Court’s decision <strong>in</strong> <strong>Iqbal</strong> provides<br />
the defense practitioner with a significant<br />
tool <strong>in</strong> combat<strong>in</strong>g unsubstantiated<br />
actions. By focus<strong>in</strong>g on the plausibility of<br />
a compla<strong>in</strong>t’s allegations, by follow<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Supreme Court’s directive to separate factual<br />
allegations from legal conclusions, and<br />
by heed<strong>in</strong>g its mandate to strip “naked assertions”<br />
from a plead<strong>in</strong>g, defense counsel<br />
has the chance to elim<strong>in</strong>ate or reduce client<br />
exposure. In the class action context,<br />
<strong>Iqbal</strong> permits another method to challenge<br />
the sufficiency of pla<strong>in</strong>tiffs’ class allegations<br />
<strong>in</strong> the early stage of a case and to conv<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
a court that they are implausible. Likewise,<br />
<strong>in</strong> the mass torts context, parties to a multidefendant<br />
action will have the chance to<br />
challenge the shotgun plead<strong>in</strong>g approach,<br />
which tries to lump all defendants together<br />
for plead<strong>in</strong>g purposes. The threat that Congress<br />
will reverse <strong>Iqbal</strong> is real, return<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
the Conley v. Gibson standard, but for now,<br />
defense counsel should concentrate on apply<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>Iqbal</strong> as best they can.<br />
72 n For The Defense n December 2009