Civil Procedure Flashcards
What is the two prong analysis to determine if a federal judge should apply state law or ignore state law?
The Hanna prong, and the Erie prong
Provide a basic definition of Personal Jurisdiction.
It is the power the courts have over the parties
Provide a basic definition of Subject Matter Jurisdiction.
It is the power the courts have over the case, does the court have the authority to hear this kind of case?
What must every single claim have in order to be heard in federal court?
Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Limited)
What are the different kinds of jurisdiction that make up Subject Matter Jurisdiction for federal courts?
Diversity (of Citizenship) Jurisdiction and Federal Question Jurisdiction
Or there must be a statute providing for exclusive federal jurisdiction
What kind of jurisdiction do state courts have?
General Subject Matter Jurisdiction - they can hear any kind of case
What rule dictates the kind of cases (jurisdiction) of federal courts?
Article 3 of the Constitution
If you have jurisdiction to go to federal court, must you?
No, unless you fall within the minor exception of having a federal question requiring federal court
What statute covers Diversity of Citizenship Jurisdiction?
Section 1332(a)(1) of the Judicial Code
What are the two requirements to satisfy Diversity of Citizenship?
- The case is between citizens of different states, and
2. The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000
What is the Complete Diversity Rule?
It holds that there is no diversity if any plaintiff is a citizen of the same state as any defendant
What is the case that established the Complete Diversity Rule?
Strawbridge vs Curtiss (1806)
Define the citizenship of a human being.
A US citizen is a citizen of the US where she is domiciled, and that is true until she affirmatively changes her domicile
How do you affirmatively change your domicile?
- You must be physically present in said place, and
- You must form the intent to make that place your permanent home
Otherwise, you retain citizenship of your original domicile
What statute defines the citizenship of a corporation?
1332(c)(1) of the Judicial code
Define the citizenship of a corporation.
A corporation is a citizen (1) of all states where incorporated and (2) the corporation is also a citizen of the one state where it has its principal place of business
Can a corporation be a citizen of more than one state?
Yes
What case confirmed the rule for principal place of business?
Hertz Company vs Friend (SC 2010)
What is the rule for principal place of business?
A company’s principal place of business is where the managers (usually board of directors) direct, control and coordinate corporate activities (the “nerve centre”)
How do you determine citizenship of an unincorporated business?
You use the citizenship of all of the business’s members, so a business could have citizenship in multiple states
What is the process to determine if the first part of Diversity of Citizenship is satisfied?
If the plaintiff is human, their citizenship is determined by their domicile; if the plaintiff is a business, if incorporated, follow statute, otherwise its citizenship is the citizenship of its members, then check that the Complete Diversity Rule applies
What amount must be exceeded in order to satisfy the second part of Diversity of Citizenship?
$75,000
Finish the sentence: Whatever the plaintiff claims will govern, unless…
…it is clear to a legal certainty that she cannot recover more than $75,000
Define aggregation within the context of amount in controversy.
It is where we must add multiple claims to get over $75,000
What rule is applied for aggregation issues?
We only aggregate where the plaintiff is a sole plaintiff claiming against a sole defendant. You cannot aggregate claims if you have multiple parties on either side
Explain the difference between an aggregation issue and a joint claim.
Both allow you to increase the total value of the claim, however whereas aggregation of claims is restricted to a single plaintiff and single defendant, joint claims do not have such a restriction; the number of parties is irrelevant
What statute governs Federal Question Jurisdiction?
Section 1331 of the Judicial Code
When does Federal Question Jurisdiction arise?
When the claim arises under federal law
How do you check a claim arises under federal law, warranting Federal Question Jurisdiction?
Use the Well Pleaded Complaint Rule
What is the Well Pleaded Complaint Rule?
Look only at the complaint. You ignore everything except the claim itself
Ask yourself if the plaintiff is enforcing a federal right. If yes, it is a Federal Question case
What case established the Well Pleaded Complaint Rule?
Mottley (SC 1908)
What were the facts in Mottley (SC 1908)?
The Mottley’s were passengers on a railroad when they were injured. They sued the railroad and settled the case for a lifetime pass. Congress then passed a law (federal) holding that railroads cannot honour free passes. The railroad subsequently refused to accept the passes used by the Mottley’s, and the Mottley’s sued for breach of contract, stating that the federal statute did not apply to them
What was the decision held in Mottley (SC 1908)?
The SC held that it was not a federal question case because the claim did not arise under federal law.
The federal statute introduce gave no federal right to the Mottley’s, so the Mottley’s could not enforce such a law.
The claim itself was simply a breach of contract, and their argument that the new federal law did not apply was distinct from the claim itself, actually anticipating a defence the railroad would raise rather than claiming anything
What is Supplemental Jurisdiction?
This gets claims into a case that is already in federal court
What statute governs Supplemental Jurisdiction?
Section 1367 of the Judicial Code
What case governs Supplemental Jurisdiction?
The Gibbs case (1966) (United Mine Works vs Gibbs)
What were the facts of Gibbs (1966)?
This involved labour disputes in coal mines in Appalachian. The plaintiff, a Tennessee citizen, asserted two claims against the defendant, also a citizen of Tennessee.
One of the claims arose under federal labour laws, invoking federal question. The other claim arose under a question of state law. Both claims arose from the same real world event
What was held in Gibbs (1966)?
It was held that the federal court could hear the other claim on state law, that they had supplemental jurisdiction, because the claim formed part of the same overall dispute.
When a federal court takes jurisdiction, it takes jurisdiction over an entire case as it relates to the same overall dispute.
You get supplemental jurisdiction if the claim shares a common nucleus of operative fact with the claim that got the case into federal court
How is section 1367 of the Judicial Code applied?
This relates to supplemental jurisdiction and is a two step process:
- Does 1367(a) apply to grant supplemental jurisdiction over the claim?
- Does 1367(b) apply to take away supplemental jurisdiction?
How do you assess 1367(a) of the Judicial Code?
It applies if the Gibbs test is met - the claim shares a common nucleus of operative fact with the claim that got the case into federal court
The Gibbs test is always met if the claims arise out of the same transaction or occurrence
How do you asses 1367(b) of the Judicial Code?
It takes away supplemental jurisdiction only where the case is a diversity case and it falls into one of these kinds of claims by plaintiffs:
- persons joined under rule 14, 19, 20 or 24
- claims by rule 19 plaintiffs
- claims by rule 24 intervenor plaintiffs
What is Removal Jurisdiction?
This gives the defendant the choice to remove the case to federal court. A plaintiff can never remove, and removal is a one way street
Does a defendant require permission to file notice for removal?
No, however removal must not be improper, otherwise the plaintiff can move to remand the case back to state court (1447(c))
What are the pre-requisites for removal?
- A defendant can remove if the case could have been brought in federal court (therefore meeting subject matter jurisdiction for federal court) - 1441(a)
- You must remove within 30 days of service of process - 1446(b)(1)
- All defendants who have been served with process must join in the removal - 1446(b)(2)(A)
- The 30 days from removal starts afresh for each newly served defendant - 1446(b)(2)(B)
- You remove only to the federal district that embraces the state court where the case was file (a venue provision) - 1441(a)
What is the in-state defendant rule?
You cannot remove a diversity case if any defendant is a citizen of the forum
What are the statutes that govern removal?
1441, 1446, and 1447 of the Judicial Code
What is venue?
Venue tells us which federal court to go to. It is focused on geographical location
What statute governs venue generally?
Section 1391 of the Judicial Code
What choices are available to the plaintiff in laying venue?
- You may lay venue in a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located (section 1391(b)(1))
- You may lay venue in a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated (section 1391(b)(2))
- Fallback provision - if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action (section 1391(b)(3))
When does section 1391 of the Judicial Code apply?
When a case is filed initially in federal court. It does not apply if a case is removed from state to federal court
What is transfer of venue subject to?
Transfer of venue must be within courts of the same judicial system, so transfer cannot occur between state courts, only federal district courts
What court is the transferor within transfer of venue?
The transferor is the original federal court from which you transfer