Piper v. Meade & Assocs., Inc.

282 F. Supp. 3d 905
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedOctober 10, 2017
DocketCase No. RWT 17–cv–863
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 282 F. Supp. 3d 905 (Piper v. Meade & Assocs., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Piper v. Meade & Assocs., Inc., 282 F. Supp. 3d 905 (D. Md. 2017).

Opinion

ROGER W. TITUS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

1. The Consequences of Lessons Not Learned

This is a case that could aptly be described as the tale of "the horse that was led to water, but would not drink." Our respected State colleague, the late Chief Judge Richard Gilbert of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, aptly noted that procedural rules are "the lawyer's compass and serve to help him steer through the narrows of pleading, pass the rocks of default, around the shoals of limitation and safely into the harbor of judgment. It is a reckless sailor, indeed, who puts to sea without a compass and it is a reckless lawyer who fails to familiarize himself with" the applicable procedural rules before filing and trying a case. Colonial Carpets, Inc. v. Carpet Fair, Inc. , 36 Md.App. 583, 584, 374 A.2d 419, 420-21 (1977). He went on to lament that, notwithstanding *907the importuning of appellate courts that the

rules of procedure are not to be considered as mere guides or Heloise's helpful hints to the practice of law, but rather precise rubrics that are to be read and followed, admonitions go unheeded by some practitioners. When that occurs, we are left to wonder whether we are engaged in an endless struggle, just as waves beat upon the shore, fall back and then repeat over and over ad infinitum.

Id. at 584-85, 374 A.2d at 421.

In the federal court system, the basic requirements for a complaint are contained in Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which states that a "pleading that states a claim for relief must contain: (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court's jurisdiction...; (2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (3) a demand for the relief sought...."

These basic requirements of Rule 8(a) were clarified by the decisions of the Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). In order to satisfy these minimum pleading requirements, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id.

Although it is true that Courts must accept "all well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true," Albright v. Oliver , 510 U.S. 266, 268, 114 S.Ct. 807, 127 L.Ed.2d 114 (1994), and Harrison v. Westinghouse Savannah River Co. , 176 F.3d 776, 783 (4th Cir. 1999), courts are not required to use a divining rod to supply missing, essential facts when testing the sufficiency of a complaint. Courts "are not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation." Papasan v. Allain , 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986), and Rule 8"requires a 'showing,' rather than a blanket assertion, of entitlement to relief." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556 n.3, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) ). Therefore "...[a court] must determine whether it is plausible that the factual allegations in the complaint are 'enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.' " Monroe v. City of Charlottesville, Va. , 579 F.3d 380, 386 (4th Cir. 2009) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).

A plaintiff must meet the Twombly - Iqbal pleading standard for all elements of a cause of action, including jurisdiction and standing. See Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife

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282 F. Supp. 3d 905, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/piper-v-meade-assocs-inc-mdd-2017.