Twiqbal is a colloquial term in American law (

civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...

), referring to two separate US Supreme Court cases that together made it more difficult to sue in federal court, by requiring that plaintiffs demonstrate that their claims are "plausible", rather than simply describing the case in sufficient detail to put the defendant on

notice Notice is the legal concept describing a requirement that a party be aware of legal process affecting their rights, obligations or duties. There are several types of notice: public notice (or legal notice), actual notice, constructive notice Se ...

. The two cases are ''

Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly ''Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly'', 550 U.S. 544 (2007), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving antitrust law and civil procedure. Authored by Justice David Souter, it established that parallel conduct, absent evidence ...

'', 550 U.S. 544 (2007) and ''

Ashcroft v. Iqbal ''Ashcroft v. Iqbal'', 556 U.S. 662 (2009), was a United States Supreme Court case which held that plaintiffs must present a "plausible" cause of action. Alongside ''Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly'' (and together known as Twiqbal), Iqbal raised th ...

'', 556 U.S. 662 (2009), and "Twiqbal" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordscivil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...

, the cases together, and the principle for which the cases stand, have both become commonly referred to as ''Twiqbal''.

''Iqbal'' expansion of ''Twombly''

The Supreme Court's 2009 ''Iqbal'' case elaborated the heightened standard of pleading it established two years previously in ''Twombly'', and established that it was generally applicable in all federal

civil litigation Civil law is a major branch of the law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the law of the United States, United States, the term refers to non ...

and not limited to

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

law:

Two working principles underlie our decision in ''Twombly''. First, the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions. ... Second, only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss. Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will, as the Court of Appeals observed, be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense. In keeping with these principles a court considering a motion to dismiss can choose to begin by identifying pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth. While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief. Our decision in ''Twombly'' illustrates the two-pronged approach.

Effects of Twiqbal

The effect of these two decisions has been described as "incredibly consequential" and "controversial". After ''Iqbal'' was decided, expanding ''Twomblys reach beyond antitrust law, legislation was introduced to reverse the cases and re-introduce "notice pleading";See the

Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2009 Notice is the legal concept describing a requirement that a party be aware of legal process affecting their rights, obligations or duties. There are several types of notice: public notice (or legal notice), actual notice, constructive notice Se ...

S.1504 (111th Congress)
and the

Open Access to Courts Act of 2009 Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' ( ...

H.R. 4115 (111th Congress)
. neither bill passed.

Notes

{{reflist

''Iqbal'' expansion of ''Twombly''

Effects of Twiqbal

See also

Notes

Further reading