Iqbal, Twombly, and the Lessons of the Celotex Trilogy

Abstract:     
This Essay compares the Twombly/Iqbal line of cases to the Celotex trilogy and suggests that developments since the latter offer lessons for the former. Some of the comparisons are obvious: decreased access and increased judicial discretion. However, one important similarity has not been well understood: that the driving force in both contexts has been the lower courts rather than the Supreme Court. Further, while we can expect additional access barriers to be erected in the future, our focus should be on lower courts, rather than other institutional players, as the likely source of those barriers.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 14

Keywords: Civil Procedure, Pleading, Twombly, Iqbal, Courts, Law and Society

Accepted Paper Series