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Glannon Ch. 15: Sufficient Allegations- Pleading Under the Federal Rules A.

Stating a Claim Under the Federal Rules o 1) The plaintiff starts the ball rolling by filing a complaint, FRCP 8 states that the complaint must contain A) A statement of the basis for the courts jurisdiction B) A statement of the relief the plaintiff is seeking C) A short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief o 2) The purpose of the pleading under the FRCP is notice to the opposing party A) Notice of the events that gave rise to the claim B) Notice of the general nature of the legal right the plaintiff asserts I) Bell v. Twombly o 1) Conley v. Gibson had held that a complaint should not be dismissed unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no sets of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief o 2) In Bell the Supreme Court held the complaint was insufficient under Rule 8 (a) (2) by stating that the complaint did not set forth a single fact in a context that suggests an agreement A) The court stated that the plaintiffs must allege enough to show that their claim is plausible not just conceivable o 3) Bell strongly shifted the balance toward the defendants in cases such as those B. Pleading alternatively or inconsistently o 1) Under rule 8 (d) (3) the plaintiff may assert as many alternative versions of the claim as he has evidence to support. The rules recognize that when the plaintiff drafts the complaint, he may not be able to predict what facts will be ultimately found by the jury at trial C. Admissions and denials in the defendants answer o 1) Rule 10 (b) requires that averments in the complaint be set forth in separate paragraphs A) The defendant, in answering, must take a position on each of these allegations, by admitting those that are true, and denying those that are not true B) Under Rule 8 (b) (2), a denial must fairly respond to the substance of the allegation I) If the defendant means to deny only a part of an allegation, she must specify what is true and deny only the parts that are not true o 2) The Federal Rules allow the plaintiff to present as many claims as she has evidence to support, even if they cant all be true with the idea being to put the defendant on notice of the positions that the plaintiff seeks to establish A) The same goes for the defendant, under Rule 8, the defendant is allowed to plead whatever defenses she has to the plaintiffs claim. o 3) Under Rule 11, the defendant must have evidentiary support for the defenses that she asserts, but isnt required to stake her case on one of them D. Rule 11 limits on legal allegations o 1) A party cannot plead whatever she pleases without some support for it, or at least an anticipation of finding support for it. Rule 11 establishes ethical parameters on both factual and legal positions a party presents to the court.

o 2) Under Rule 11, a party presenting a pleading or motion certifies several things to the court A) She certifies that she has made an inquiry, reasonable under the circumstances, before taking the position asserted in the pleading or motion

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