Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (2009) Cited 266,691 times 281 Legal AnalysesHolding court need not credit "mere conclusory statements" in complaint
Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
464 U.S. 417 (1984) Cited 986 times 28 Legal AnalysesHolding identical copying of videotapes under unique circumstances of case “[did] not have its ordinary effect of militating against a finding of fair use”
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co.
499 U.S. 244 (1991) Cited 629 times 11 Legal AnalysesHolding that the presumption against extraterritorial application of federal statutes prevented an employee fired from work being done in Saudi Arabia from sustaining an anti-discrimination action brought under Title VII
Carcieri v. Salazar
555 U.S. 379 (2009) Cited 294 times 7 Legal AnalysesHolding that a list following "shall include" was exhaustive where Congress "defined the term by including only three discrete definitions"
America's Best Inns v. Best Inns of Abilene
980 F.2d 1072 (7th Cir. 1992) Cited 578 timesHolding that "to the best of my knowledge and belief" is not sufficient to establish citizenship in pleadings
MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc.
991 F.2d 511 (9th Cir. 1993) Cited 542 times 5 Legal AnalysesHolding that unlicensed "copying" occurred when copyrighted software was transferred from a storage device to a computer in the United States
Paul v. Marberry
658 F.3d 702 (7th Cir. 2011) Cited 305 timesHolding that dismissal with prejudice is appropriate where a plaintiff repeatedly fails to meet Rule 8's requirement
Computer Associates Intern., Inc. v. Altai
982 F.2d 693 (2d Cir. 1992) Cited 513 times 3 Legal AnalysesHolding that an action "will not be saved from preemption by elements such as awareness or intent"
Miller v. Herman
600 F.3d 726 (7th Cir. 2010) Cited 232 timesHolding that there was "no problem construing the motion [to dismiss] as one for summary judgment" where the plaintiff "responded to the motions" framed in the alternative "collectively and universally"
Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. Team Equip., Inc.
741 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir. 2014) Cited 182 times 1 Legal AnalysesHolding that plaintiffs should be permitted to cure technical defects, such as "alleging diversity jurisdiction based on residency rather than citizenship . . . ."
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 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
17 U.S.C. § 106 Cited 3,915 times 109 Legal AnalysesGranting the owners of copyrights in “literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works” the exclusive right “to display the copyrighted work publicly”
Section 504 - Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits
17 U.S.C. § 504 Cited 3,716 times 59 Legal AnalysesHolding that a copyright infringer may be liable for "the copyright owner's actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer"
Section 410 - Registration of claim and issuance of certificate
17 U.S.C. § 410 Cited 1,543 times 12 Legal AnalysesFinding that production of a certificate of copyright registration gave rise to a rebuttable presumption that copyright was valid