Second Circuit Decision On Pleading Conspiracy More Welcoming To Plaintiffs

The Supreme Court recently decided not to review a Second Circuit decision on the standard for pleading conspiracy, leaving in place that decision, Anderson News, LLC v. American Media, Inc., 680 F.3d 162 (2d. Cir. 2012).  In its opinion, the Second Circuit held that, when assessing the sufficiency of the plaintiff's pleadings under Sherman Act § 1, the court should not question whether there are other plausible, or even more plausible, alternatives to the plaintiff's theory.  This decision in Anderson could make pleading conspiracies considerably easier for antitrust plaintiffs, at least in the very important Second Circuit.

Second Circuit precedent on assessing conspiracy claims

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly set a new standard in antitrust pleadings under Section 1.  The Court held that plaintiffs must plead "plausible grounds to infer an agreement" with "context that raises a suggestion of a preceding agreement."  Under well-established