Judge Rosenthal Reviews Pleading Standards after Iqbal

Per Golden v. Austin County Sheriff's Dept., Slip Copy, 2009 WL 1835448 (S.D. Tex. June 26, 2009):

Rule 12(b)(6) allows dismissal if a plaintiff fails “to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) (6). The Supreme Court recently overruled the part of Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) holding that “a complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Id. at 45-46. In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1968-69, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), the Court held that a complaint fails to comply with Rule 8 if it does not plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1974.

In Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- S.Ct. ----, No. 07-1015, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, --- L.Ed.2d ----, 2009 WL 1361536 (May 18, 2009), the Supreme Court elaborated on the pleading standards discussed in Twombly. The Court explained that “the pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed factual allegations,’ but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Id. at *12 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). Iqbal explained that “[a] claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556).

In accordance with the pleading principles described in Twombly and Iqbal, a “complaint must allege ‘more than labels and conclusions,’ ” and “ ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do’ ....” Norris v. Hearst Trust, 500 F.3d 454, 464 (5th Cir.2007) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. at 1965, 167 L.Ed.2d 929); see also Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, at ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, --- L.Ed.2d ----, at ----, 2009 WL 1361536, at *12 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). “Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’ ” Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, at ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, ---L.Ed.2d ----, at ----, 2009 WL 1361536, at *12 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557). “ ‘Rule 8(a)(2) ... requires a showing, rather than a blanket assertion, of entitlement to relief. Without some factual allegation in the complaint, it is hard to see how a claimant could satisfy the requirement of providing not only ‘fair notice’ of the nature of the claim, but also ‘grounds' on which the claim rests.’ ” Dark v. Potter, 293 F. App'x 254, 258 (5th Cir.2008) (unpublished) (per curiam) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. at 1965 n. 3, 167 L.Ed.2d 929).

“To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a complaint ‘does not need detailed factual allegations,’ but must provide the plaintiff's grounds for entitlement to relief-including factual allegations that when assumed to be true ‘raise a right to relief above the speculative level.’ ” Cuvillier v. Taylor, 503 F.3d 397, 401 (5th Cir.2007) (footnote omitted) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. at 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929); see also In re S. Scrap Material Co., 541 F.3d 584, 587 (5th Cir.2008) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. at 1965, 167 L.Ed.2d 929), cert. denied, S. Scrap Material Co. v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1669, ---L.Ed.2d ---- (2009). “Conversely, ‘when the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief, ‘this basic deficiency should ... be exposed at the point of minimum expenditure of time and money by the parties and the court.’ ' ” Cuvillier, 503 F.3d at 401 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. at 1966, 167 L.Ed.2d 929).