In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), the United States Supreme Court created a heightened standard for pleading in federal court. A complaint must contain sufficient factual detail to state a plausible claim for relief. This higher standard has led to more successful challenges to pleadings in federal court. See The Eleventh Circuit Reinforces a High Pleading Standard (posted March 14, 2014). However, the Georgia state courts have declined to embrace the Iqbal-Twombly standard and have continued to apply a very low threshold for pleading a claim for relief…. Read more
Tag: Twombly
The Eleventh Circuit Reinforces A High Pleading Standard
In Simpson v. Sanderson Farms, Inc., Case No. 13-10624 (decided March 7, 2014), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants’ practice of hiring illegal immigrants had depressed the wages of employees who were lawfully in the country. For practitioners, the larger significance of this Simpson decision lies in the Eleventh Circuit’s enforcing of a high standard for pleading the factual basis for a claim. In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544… Read more