Will SCOTUS bar unpled affirmative defenses at summary judgment?
If the Supreme Court, in Younge v. Fulton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, rules a defendant may not assert an affirmative defense omitted from its answer as the basis for summary judgment without amending or seeking to amend the answer, including when Rule 16(b)(4) would bar amendment, then the market resolves to Yes.
The Payout Criterion for the Contract encompasses the Expiration Values that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled, in Younge v. Fulton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, that a defendant whose answer omitted an affirmative defense may not assert that defense as the basis for summary judgment without amending or seeking to amend the answer, including where Rule 16(b)(4) would bar the amendment, after Issuance and before August 1, 2028. The market resolves to No if the Court holds that a defendant may rely on an unpled affirmative defense at summary judgment without amending or seeking to amend its answer, whether categorically or under a case-specific standard. If the case is dismissed, found to have been improvidently granted, or otherwise disposed of without a merits ruling on the Question Presented, or remanded without resolving that question, the market resolves to No.