DirecTV Moves to Strike Affirmative Defenses as ‘Blanket Denials’

DirecTV seeks an order striking the six affirmative defenses of four defendants alleged to be part of an unlawful scheme to steal money from consumers by impersonating DirecTV telemarketers (see 2302160055), said its motion Monday (docket 6:22-cv-00423) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas in Tyler. Most of the affirmative defenses “are improper because they are conclusory statements devoid of factual substance,” and fail to give DirecTV “fair notice of the defenses being asserted,” said the motion. The majority of the defenses also are improper “because they fail to identify the claim to which each applies,” it said. The defenses generally contain only “blanket denials” of the allegations in DirecTV’s complaint, it said.