Reis Robotics USA, Inc. v. Concept Industries, Inc.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
462 F. Supp. 2d 897 (2006)
Reis Robotics USA, Inc. (Reis) (plaintiff) sued Concept Industries, Inc. (Concept) (defendant) for breach of contract. Concept's answer contained admissions and denials written in vague, qualifying language, plus six affirmative defenses and seven counterclaims. Several of the affirmative defenses simply repeated denials already in the answer, while others just recited legal standards with no facts behind them. Reis moved to strike parts of the answer and the affirmative defenses, and to dismiss the counterclaims.
Whether federal courts can strike affirmative defenses or portions of a defendant's answer for failing to comply with pleading requirements.