Also known as: scandalous matters · scandalous pleading
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A pleading allegation that is both grossly disgraceful or defamatory and irrelevant to any claim or defense in the action. Federal courts may strike such matter from a pleading on a party's motion or on the court's own initiative.
Bridge Contractors sued Federal Steel for unpaid subcontract amounts. Federal Steel's answer asserted an unclean-hands defense that detailed the plaintiff's CEO's extramarital affairs and gambling debts without linking those facts to any contract performance issue. Bridge moved to strike those paragraphs. The court granted the motion because the details were both disgraceful and irrelevant to the payment dispute.
A state sought an injunction against a newspaper that regularly published articles accusing public officials of corruption and vice. The paper had never been charged with libel. The court refused the injunction because the statute targeted scandalous matter for suppression rather than providing remedies for proven private wrongs.
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An applicant sought to register a mark that formed a vulgar word. The PTO refused registration on the ground that the mark consisted of scandalous matter. The applicant challenged the refusal as viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment.
The lead singer of an Asian-American band sought registration of the band's name chosen to reclaim ethnic stereotypes. The PTO denied the application under the Lanham Act provision barring scandalous or disparaging matter. The Supreme Court held the disparagement clause unconstitutional.
The movant must show that the challenged allegations are both grossly disgraceful or defamatory and irrelevant to any claim or defense. Courts also consider whether the material was pleaded for an improper purpose such as harassment.
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No. Rule 12(f) expressly authorizes the court to act on its own initiative in addition to granting relief on a timely party motion.
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They are strikable when they have no direct connection to the claims or defenses and serve primarily to embarrass or harass rather than to advance a legal theory.
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No. Allegations remain subject to striking when they lack any concrete tie to liability, damages, or a recognized defense even if offered for impeachment.
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…libel but at an existing business which, generally speaking, involves more than libel." It is aimed at the distribution of scandalous matter as "detrimental to public morals and to the general welfare," tending "to disturb the peace of the community" and "to provoke assaults and the commission of crime." In order to obtain an…