I have to agree that the “vague and malleable” standards invite judges to substitute personal feelings for legal reasoning. Glad to see that there are some conservative groups out there who are working to repair the system.
The conservative Alliance Defense Fund is lining up in opposition to a pair of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that changed the standard for filing most civil lawsuits -- a move that aligns the Christian litigation group with some unlikely allies.
Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for Congress to override last year's decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, as well as a similar decision in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly in 2007. They have the support of a coalition of liberal groups, including consumer advocates, trial lawyers and civil rights organizations, all of whom say it's become more difficult to avoid having their claims thrown out of federal court prior to discovery. On the other side, business groups have supported the rulings.
In a letter to lawmakers, Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Gary McCaleb writes that his group represents both plaintiffs and defendants, so its objection is not that bringing a lawsuit has become more or less difficult. "Rather," he writes, "our concern is that vague, malleable rules are bad news when it comes to orderly, reasoned processes."
Source: Law.com - Christian Group Joins Campaign on Pleading Standard