A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on a terrorism suspect’s constitutional claims may help commercial defendants obtain pre-discovery dismissals of claims against them. The Court’s May 18 decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, No. 07-1015, should make it easier for defendants to win motions to dismiss commercial cases, especially in cases involving seemingly weak or speculative claims or where allegations of the defendant’s knowledge or intent play a critical role.
Iqbal involved claims brought by a Pakistani Muslim who was arrested and detained in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. He brought civil rights claims against certain federal officials, including then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller, alleging that they had adopted an unconstitutional policy that subjected him to harsh detention conditions because of his race, religion or national origin. While the district court and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Iqbal‘s claims against motions to dismiss, the Supreme Court reversed.
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