Doe v. Smith
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
429 F.3d 706 (7th Cir. 2005)
Jane Doe (plaintiff) alleged that Jason Smith (defendant) secretly videotaped them during sexual intimacy without her knowledge or consent and later shared the video with other students at his high school. Doe sued in federal court under the federal wiretapping statute and several supplemental state-law claims, but her complaint never specifically alleged that the recording constituted an "interception" under the statute. Smith moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), and the district court dismissed the suit for failing to plead interception.
Whether, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff must specifically plead each and every element of the legal theory she asserts.