There is a split of authority on whether the heightened pleading standards articulated in Twombly and Iqbal apply to affirmative defenses. In two recent decisions, district courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have declined to extend the reach of Twombly and Iqbal to affirmative defenses pled pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c).
"Twombly-Iqbal and Affirmative Defenses in the Third Circuit," American Bar Association, October 2011
October 26, 2011
Attachment: Twombly-Iqbal and Affirmative Defenses in the Third Circuit