New Standards Help Wall Street

Two recent Supreme Court cases, Twombly v. Bell Atlantic (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009) have made it easier for courts to dismiss suits against corporations. Raising the standards for bringing a case to "plausible on its face" a change from the 50 year standard of "fair notice" established in Conley v. Gibson (1957). Wall Street firms fending off suits over their handling of securities, have been able to take advantage of the new standards. One law professor found that cases were four times more likely to be dismissed under the new standard than under the Conley one.

[Bloomberg]

"To date, not a single victim of the Bush administration's torture programme has had his day in court,"

Suit alleging damages against Boeing subsidiary for their role in rendition flights thrown out (6-5) by 9th Circuit Appeals Court on national security grounds.

[Independent]