Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (2009) Cited 266,691 times 281 Legal AnalysesHolding court need not credit "mere conclusory statements" in complaint
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (2007) Cited 279,746 times 369 Legal AnalysesHolding that allegations of conduct that are merely consistent with wrongdoing do not state a claim unless "placed in a context that raises a suggestion of" such wrongdoing
Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A.
534 U.S. 506 (2002) Cited 17,347 times 20 Legal AnalysesHolding with regard to a 67-year-old plaintiff and a 59-year-old comparator that " difference of eight years between the age of the person discharged and his replacement . . . is not insignificant"
Atl. Marine Constr. Co. v. U.S. Dist. Court for the W. Dist. of Tex.
571 U.S. 49 (2013) Cited 3,912 times 39 Legal AnalysesHolding that the correct procedural mechanism for enforcement of an FSC specifying a foreign forum is through a motion to dismiss for FNC
Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (1957) Cited 59,319 times 25 Legal AnalysesHolding 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"
Hopkins v. Saunders
199 F.3d 968 (8th Cir. 1999) Cited 1,080 timesHolding that a party waived its right to pursue two improperly dismissed claims that were not discussed in the district court in part because the party “took no affirmative action immediately following the entry of judgment to call the district court's attention to the fact that it had not ruled on his [claims]”
Cole v. Homier Distributing Co.
599 F.3d 856 (8th Cir. 2010) Cited 427 timesFinding that "lost-profit damages cannot rest upon mere speculation" and affirming an expert's exclusion where the expert's twenty-five-year damage term was speculative because the parties could terminate the contract with ninety-days' notice and there was no indication it would continue for twenty-five years
Cottman Transmission Sys., Inc. v. Martino
36 F.3d 291 (3d Cir. 1994) Cited 597 timesHolding that venue was not proper in Pennsylvania because the contract on which the plaintiff based its claims was executed and performed in Michigan, the defendant's business was located in Michigan, the telephone directories central to the claim were issued and used in Michigan, and the unauthorized use of the trademarks issued occurred in Michigan and only the nonpayment occurred in Pennsylvania
Whitney v. Guys, Inc.
700 F.3d 1118 (8th Cir. 2012) Cited 284 timesAffirming the district court's characterization of promissory estoppel as a quasi-contract claim and application of Minnesota's choice of law rules
Albert v. Carovano
851 F.2d 561 (2d Cir. 1988) Cited 404 times 3 Legal AnalysesHolding that a plaintiff's selective enforcement claim must "specify instances" in which they have been treated differently from "others similarly situated"
Rule 12 - Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 Cited 361,353 times 960 Legal AnalysesGranting the court discretion to exclude matters outside the pleadings presented to the court in defense of a motion to dismiss
Rule 8 - General Rules of Pleading
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 Cited 163,831 times 197 Legal AnalysesHolding that "[e]very defense to a claim for relief in any pleading must be asserted in the responsive pleading. . . ."
Rule 11 - Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions
Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 Cited 37,377 times 150 Legal AnalysesHolding an "unrepresented party" to the same standard as an attorney
Section 1391 - Venue generally
28 U.S.C. § 1391 Cited 29,171 times 200 Legal AnalysesFinding that venue lies where a "substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim" occurred