Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly

Citation. 127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007)

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Citation127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007)

Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiffs, subscribers to local phone and internet services, sue Bell Atlantic and local telephone companies alleging violations of anti-trust laws, allowing each local phone company to monopolize its own market.

Synopsis of Rule of Law. Under § 1 of the Sherman Act, stating a claim requires a complaint with enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest that a valid claim arises.

Points of Law - Legal Principles in this Case for Law Students.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari to address the proper standard for pleading an antitrust conspiracy through allegations of parallel conduct.

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Issue. What a plaintiff must plead in order to state a claim under § 1 of the Sherman Act.

Held. Applying the general standards to a §1 claim, the court held that stating such a claim requires a complaint with enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest that an agreement was made.  Here, the antitrust conspiracy was not suggested by the facts, which thus fails to state a valid §1 claim.

Discussion. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” in order to “give the defendant fair notice of what the… claim is and the grounds upon which it rests,” Conley v. Gibson.  This required more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action are not sufficient.