CIV PRO Flashcards
FEDERAL QUESTION JURISDICTION:
A federal court has
federal question jurisdiction if the well-pleaded complaint
alleges a claim that arises under federal law.
DIVERSITY JURISDICTION:
A federal court has diversity
jurisdiction if:
- Complete diversity is present; AND
- The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
CITIZENSHIP:
Determining citizenship for diversity purposes
varies depending on the types of parties involved.
Individuals. An individual’s citizenship is determined by
the individual’s state or country of domicile.
Corporations. Corporations hold dual citizenship:
a. The state or country of incorporation; AND
b. The state or country of its principal place of
business.
Unincorporated Associations. Unincorporated
associations and partnerships are considered a citizen of
every state of which its members are citizens.
SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION:
Supplemental jurisdiction
allows a federal court with valid SMJ over a case to hear
additional claims over which the court would not independently have jurisdiction if all the claims constitute the
same case or controversy.
Same Case or Controversy. Claims constitute the same
case or controversy if they arise out a “common nucleus
of operative fact” (i.e., the claims arise out of the same
transaction or occurrence).
REMOVAL:
Removal allows the defendant to move a case from state court to federal court if the case could have been brought originally in federal court. In diversity actions, there
is an additional requirement – the defendant may remove if:
- Complete diversity is present;
- The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000; AND
- The action is brought in a state of which no
defendant is a citizen.
PERSONAL JURISDICTION: TRADITIONAL BASIS
If any of the following 4 traditional
bases are satisfied, the court will have PJ over the defendant:
- Domicile (D is domiciled in the forumstate)
- Physical Presence (D is served in the forumstate)
- Consent (D consents to PJ)
- Waiver (D waives his objections to PJ)
PERSONAL JURISDICTION: LONG ARM STATUTE
If none of the traditional bases are
satisfied, the court will still have PJ over the defendant if
minimum contacts exist between the defendant and the
forum state. Sufficient minimum contacts exist when:
1. General or specific jurisdiction is present; AND
2. The exercise of such jurisdiction does not offend
traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
PJ: GENERAL JURISDICTION
General jurisdiction exists when the defendant is “at home” in the forum state (i.e., domicile or
principal place of business/state of incorporation).
PJ: SPECIFIC JURISDICTION:
Specific jurisdiction is present if:
1. The defendant purposefully availed himself of the
benefits of the forum state; AND
2. The defendant knew or reasonably should have
anticipated that his activity in the forum state made
it foreseeable that he may be haled into courtthere.
SERVICE:
The plaintiff is responsible for having a copy of the
summons and complaint served on the defendant within 90
days after the complaint is filed.
Domestic Individuals. An individual within the U.S. may
be served by:
a. Delivering a copy to the individual personally;
b. Leaving a copy at the individual’s dwelling with
someone of suitable age who resides there;OR
c. Delivering a copy to an authorized agent.
Foreign Individuals. Unless prohibited by foreign law, an
individual in a foreign country may be served by:
a. Using certified mail requiring a signature;OR
b. Delivering a copy to the individual personally.
Business Entities. A corporation, partnership, or association may be served by delivering a copy of the
summons and complaint to an officer, a managing or
general agent, or any other agent authorized by law.
VENUE:
Venue is proper in a judicial district where:
1. Any defendant resides if all the defendants reside in
the same state;
2. A substantial part of the events giving rise to the
claim occurred or a substantial part of property that
is the subject of the action is located; OR
3. If (1) or (2) cannot be satisfied, a judicial district in
which any defendant is subject to PJ.
RESIDENCE FOR VENUE PURPOSES
Determining residence for venue purposes varies
depending on the types of parties involved.
Individuals. An individual is deemed to reside in the
judicial district where he is domiciled.
Business Entities. A business entity is deemed to reside
in any judicial district where the entity is subject to PJ.
Foreign Defendants. A defendant who is not a resident
of the U.S. may be sued in any judicial district.
TRANSFER VENUE:
If venue is proper, the court may nonetheless
transfer the case for convenience to any court where the case
could have been originally filed. In diversity cases, the
transferee court must apply the law that would have been
applied in the district court that transferred the case.
If venue is improper, the court must:
- Dismiss the case; OR
- Transfer the case to a venue in which the case could have been originally filed, and apply the choice-of-
law rules of the state in which it is located (in diversity cases).
In all federal question cases, the transferee court must apply
the federal law as interpreted by its own federal court of
appeals (regardless of whether original venue was proper).
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
A PI preserves the status quo
of the parties until a final judgment can be reached. A plaintiff
seeking a PI must establish that:
- She is likely to suffer irreparable harm if the PI is not
issued; - She is likely to suffer greater harm than the
defendant will if the PI is not issued; - She is likely to succeed on the merits; AND
- The PI is the best interest of the public.
The non-moving party must be given notice and an opportunity to oppose the PI at a hearing before the court.
TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
A TRO preserves the status quo of the parties for up to 14 days until there is an opportunity to hold a full hearing on the application for a PI.
A plaintiff seeking a TRO must establish that:
1. She is likely to suffer irreparable harm if the TROis
not issued;
2. She is likely to suffer greater harm than the
defendant will if the TRO is not issued;
3. She is likely to succeed on the merits; AND
4. The TRO is the best interest of the public.
The court may issue a TRO without notice (ex parte) if:
1. Immediate and irreparable will result to themovant
before the non-moving party can be heard; AND
2. The attorney certifies in writing any efforts made to
give notice and why it should not be required.
PLEADINGS: COMPLAINT
The complaint is the first pleading filed by the
plaintiff – it commences the lawsuit. A complaint must state:
1. Grounds for SMJ;
2. A showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; AND
3. A demand for judgment for relief.
PRE-ANSWER MOTION:
After the complaint is filed, the
defendant may file a pre-answer motion to raise certain
defenses or respond with the answer.
ANSWER:
The answer must state:
1. A specific denial or admission of each allegation in
the complaint or a general denial of all allegations
with specific admissions if necessary; AND
2. Any affirmative defenses that the respondent has (if
excluded, such defenses are deemed waived).
COMPULSORY JOINDER:
A plaintiff must join an absent party or face dismissal of the lawsuit if:
- Complete relief cannot be accorded among the other
parties to the action without the absentee party;OR - The absentee has such an interest in the action that
a decision in his absence will impede his ability to
protect the interest or leave any of the other parties
subject to a substantial risk of incurring
multiple/inconsistent obligations; AND - The court has PJ over the absentee; AND
- The absentee’s presence would not destroy subject
matter jurisdiction or venue.
SCOPE OF DISCOVERY:
Generally, discovery is permitted with regard to any
non-privileged matter that is:
1. Relevant to any party’s claim or defense; AND
2. Proportional to the needs of the case.
LIMITS OF DISCOVERY
The court must limit the extent of discovery if:
1. The discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or
can be obtained from some other source that is
more convenient or less expensive; OR
2. The party seeking discovery had ample opportunity
to obtain the information by discovery in the action.
ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT
Generally, the materials
prepared by an attorney or client in anticipation of litigation
are protected from discovery unless:
1. The materials are otherwise unavailable;
2. There is a substantial need for the materials; AND
3. The materials cannot be obtained without undue
hardship.
RULE 12B
A party may assert any or all of the following
defenses by motion to dismiss:
1. Lack of subject matter jurisdiction;
2. Lack of personal jurisdiction;
3. Improper venue;
4. Insufficient process;
5. Insufficient service of process;
6. Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted; AND
7. Failure to join an indispensable party under
compulsory joinder.
RULE 12(b)(6):
Under a 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a
claim upon which relief can be granted, a claim for relief can
be dismissed if it either fails to assert a legal theory of
recovery that is cognizable or fails to allege facts sufficient to
support a cognizable claim. In making this determination
courts apply a 2-step analysis:
1. The court must identify and reject legal conclusions
unsupported by factual allegations; THEN
2. The court should assume that the well-pleaded
factual allegations are true and, drawing on the court’s judicial experience and common sense, determine whether the allegations plausibly give rise to the entitlement of relief.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
A MSJ must be filed at any time until 30 days after the close of discovery. A MSJ must be granted if, from the pleadings, affidavits, and discovery materials on file, when viewing the evidence in the
light most favorable to the nonmoving party, it appears that:
1. No genuine dispute of material fact exists; AND
2. The moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter
of law.
MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW
A JMOL may be filed by either party after the close of the
nonmoving party’s evidence or at the close of all evidence.
The motion will be granted if, when viewing the evidence in
the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, the court
finds that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient basis to find for the nonmoving party.
FINAL JUDGMENT RULE
The federal courts of appeals have
jurisdiction over appeals from final judgments of the district courts. A final judgment is a decision by the court on the merits that leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.
RES JUDICATA:
Res judicata provides that a final judgment on
the merits of an action precludes the parties from successive
litigation of an identical claim in a subsequent action. To bar a
claim under res judicata:
- The original claim must have resulted in a valid final
judgment on the merits; - The original and later-filed causes of action must be
sufficiently identical (i.e., related to the same
transaction or occurrence); AND - The claimant and the defendant must be the same (and in the same roles) in both the original and later-
filed action, or privity exists between the parties in the original and later-filed action.
COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL:
Collateral estoppel precludes the re-
litigation of issues of fact or law that have already been
necessarily determined by a judge or jury as part of an earlier
claim. To bar an issue under collateral estoppel:
1. The issue sought to be precluded must be the same
as that involved in the prior action (i.e., the facts
relevant to the particular issue and the applicable
law must be identical);
2. The issue must have been actually litigated inthe
prior action;
3. The issue must have been determined by a valid final
judgment on the merits; AND
4. The determination of the issue must have been
essential to the prior judgment.
COLLATERAL ORDER DOCTRINE:
The doctrine of collateral
order allows a party to appeal interlocutory rulings (i.e., non-
final rulings) if the ruling decides a claim or issue:
- That is separable from and collateral to the merits of
the case; - Involves a serious and unsettled legal question; AND
- Would be effectively unreviewable if the court
waited until final judgment to hear the claim or
issue.
