Notice of Return to Notice Pleading?

The US House of Representatives and the US Sentate have introduced bills designed to overturn Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, and usher in a return to notice pleading. Both bills, in one or another, express disapproval of Twombly's "plausibility" standard, and advocate for a return to Conley v. Gibson's "notice" standard.

Defense country nationwide have taken Twombly and ran with it. In fact, according to Lexis, Twombly has been cited 928 times this year alone. In practice, Twombly motions have secured the dismissal of numerous complaints that, if judged under a notice standard, would have survived and opened the floodgates to discovery (and maybe even settlement).

The defense bar, and its clients, should lobby for the defeat of these proposals.

Click here for a copy of the House's proposal titled "Open Access to Courts Act."

Click here for a copy of the Senate's proposal titled "Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2009."