Fox v. Lummus Company
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
525 F. Supp. 27 (1981)
Fox (plaintiff) worked for Lummus (defendant) in Iraq under a contract requiring a monthly salary reduction by a fixed "theoretical tax" amount to equalize after-tax pay across nationalities, even though no actual tax was ever levied on his salary. Fox sued for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and quasi-contract to recover the deducted amounts, and separately alleged Lummus subjected him to "constant harassment and pressure" to force his resignation, seeking $100,000 for resulting mental and physical suffering. Lummus moved to dismiss the first three claims, to compel a more definite statement of the harassment claim, and to strike the mental-anguish damages request.
Whether a defendant's motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim, to require a more definite statement, and to strike certain damages allegations should be granted where the underlying claims are legally insufficient and the challenged allegation is too vague to answer.