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US Civil Procedure for International Students: 2021 - 2022 Edition

Rose v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n

This is included as an example of a court dealing with a response to a complaint by motion. You will notice the court dealing not just with a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss certain claims but also a Rule 12(e) motion for a more definite statement. We also include it because it provides an example of a court dealing, at the pleading stage, with issues that will require further development as the case proceeds, such as whether the claim is barred by a statute of limitations and whether the statute of limitations is tolled by fraudulent concealment of the wrongdoing, and should give you a sense of how the work of developing the case is spread across the stages of litigation in the US. As you read it, don't worry about finding some important rule of process announced by this case, and certainly don’t worry about learning the substantive rules of contract or fraud or statutes of limitations the court deals with, but try instead to get a feel for how a court works through such motions in the context of the overall litigation. It is ok to read it quickly and lightly. Last but not least, from a non-U.S. cultural perspective, you might find interesting both the economic scope of U.S. intercollegiate sports and the sometimes high costs of participating in those sports for the student athletes. This has been heavily edited for reading ease and length.