Mike Scarcella reports:
A Latham & Watkins associate this week was back in court fighting to salvage a suit alleging the government unlawfully wiretapped and watched a man after he made a passing remark about airline security on the telephone.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit earlier this year had ruled in favor of the man, Scott Tooley, and remanded his suit to the trial court for further proceedings—however “thin” the claims were, the court said. Click here for the original opinion.
Then, in July, the court had a change of heart and ordered a rehearing in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, which requires plaintiffs to include enough factual assertions to make a claim plausible. The ruling in Iqbal, lawyers have said, makes it easier for defendants to get cases dismissed before the discovery stage.
Read more on BLT: the Blog of Legal Times.