550 U.S. 544 (2007) Cited 276,716 times 369 Legal Analyses
Holding 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
315 F. Supp. 2d 1046 (N.D. Cal. 2004) Cited 125 times
Holding an answer alleging plaintiff is "barred from recovery . . . by the doctrines of waiver, estoppel, and unclean hands" did not provide fair notice of affirmative defenses because it did not allege facts justifying any of these doctrines
In Memorex, the Ninth Circuit relied on several decisions in which courts rejected illegality defenses, including Kiefer-Stewart and Perma Life, both of which involved asserted defenses that were based on the plaintiff's alleged antitrust violations. See Kiefer-Stewart, 340 U.S. at 214; Perma Life, 392 U.S. at 139-40; see also Radovich v. Nat. Football League, 352 U.S. 445, 454 n.10 (1956) (noting that violations of antitrust laws are regarded as “a special form of public injury” (emphasis in Radovich) (quoting Apex Hosiery Co. v. Leader, 310 U.S. 469, 493 (1940)).