Posted in Uncategorized on March 27, 2012
In 2007 the United States Supreme Court voided the old Conley pleading standard that only required a plaintiff’s lawsuit to contain a short plain statement of the case.
While the new Twombly standard has taken root in federal court, Oklahoma has continued to use the Conley standard in state court cases.
That may have changed.
On February 28, 2012, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust v. Matthews, 2012 OK 14, that in addition to a short plain statement, the plaintiff in a foreclosure action must also have in its possession all documents showing that he is entitled to relief prior to filing.
Although Deutsche Bank arose in the context of a foreclosure action where the bank tried to foreclose before it acquired an interest in the mortgage, parties could use language from the opinion to chip away at the current pleading standard.
Justice Gurich hinted at the issue in her dissent, but only time will tell if courts will expand the reach of Deutsche Bank beyond foreclosure cases.