Shop-Vac Corp. v. Alton Indus. Ltd Group, No. 10 C 1066, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jun. 7, 2010) (Shadur, J.).

Judge Shadur sua sponte dismissed several of plaintiff Shop-Vac’s affirmative defenses in response to defendant Alton’s counterclaims as inappropriate, citing the Court’s decision in State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co. v. Riley, 199 F.R.D. 276 (N.D. Ill. 2001). The Court dismissed one affirmative defense which was the equivalent of a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) challenge to the sufficiency of Alton’s counterclaims.

The Court also dismissed two affirmative defenses that were proper pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(c), but were not pled with sufficient facts. Shop-Vac was given leave to reassert them with additional supporting facts. The Court also dismissed two affirmative defenses that contradicted allegations in the counterclaim. Shop-Vac put those issues in contention by denying the facts.