Opinion
No. 03 C 9208
March 3, 2004
MEMORANDUM ORDER
SCI Illinois Services, Inc. d/b/a Columbian Chapels, Inc. ("Columbian") has filed its Answer and a half dozen purported affirmative defenses ("ADs") to the Complaint filed against it in this ERISA action. This memorandum order is issued sua sponte to strike all of the ADs except one.
Each of the ADs except for A.D. 5 begins "To the extent . . . " — a sure tipoff that Columbian is dealing in solely speculative terms and has not satisfied even the relaxed notice pleading regime that prevails in the federal courts. Certainly none of those assertions tells either this Court or counsel for the plaintiff employee trust funds that Columbian has a real (as distinct from hypothetical) defense or, if so, what it is.
If and when the further developments in this action were to demonstrate that any of the possible problems adverted to in the present hypothetical ADs exists in fact, it will be time enough for Columbian to amend its present responsive pleading accordingly. In the meantime ADs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are stricken without prejudice.