Sham litigation is a doctrine that I believe lives on largely because it's fun to say. Lawyers like nothing better than to stand up in court and point out that the whole case is a sham, a phony, a baseless hullabaloo.
Of course, the other side would rather their claims not be constantly accompanied by the word sham, and thus motions to dismiss are fairly common. Visiting Judge Murphy gave us an interesting opinion on the sham litigation doctrine today in Corteva Agriscience LLC v. Inari Agriculture, Inc., C.A. No. 23-1059 (D. Del. May 13, 2025).
The defendant, Inari, had brought a host of counterclaims alleging the usual mess of equitable …
