Civil Procedure Flashcards
Personal Jurisdiction and Specific Personal Jurisdiction
-and what to start the essay with
-personal jurisdiction can be general (obtained by consent, presence, or domicile) or specific
-if the facts discuss a case that takes place in fed. court start the essay with, “Federal district courts may exercise personal jurisdiction to the same extent as the court of general jurisdiction of the state in which the district court sits.”
if the issue is SPECIFIC personal jurisdiction, start the essay with:
-“State courts of general jurisdiction may exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants to the extent authorized by both the state’s long-arm statute and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
-THEN state:
“The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permits states to assert personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants who have established minimum contacts with the state such that the exercise of personal jurisdiction would not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.”
*look for “purposeful availment” of the benefits and protections of the state, THEN examine the quality of the contacts with the state
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
-subject matter jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear a certain type of case.
-federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction: they can only hear certain types of cases
when SMJ is tested there are three types of issues:
1. First category of federal jurisdiction: Federal question jurisdiction
-the federal question MUST appear on the face of the P’s well-pleaded complaint. It cannot appear in the answer
-further, the P CANNOT merely anticipate a federal defense in its complaint
Second category of federal jurisdiction:
2. diversity jurisdiction
-Cases may be brought under diversity jurisdiction ONLY if two requirements are met:
(1) there MUST be complete diversity of citizenship between the Ps and Ds; AND
(2) the amount in controversy must EXCEED $75k
*Note that “complete diversity” is NOT required for class actions; rather, minimal diversity suffices
where a person is “domiciled”; where a corp is domiciled
-a person is domiciled “where it is her permanent home, a place where the person intends to remain indefinitely, and the place to which the person intends to return when temporarily absent”
-a corporation is domiciled BOTH where it is incorporated andwhere its principal place of business is located
*Note: look to see where the party is domiciled at the time the lawsuit is filed
Third Category of Federal Jurisdiction:
3. Supplemental Jurisdiction
-This is an issue when there is a jurisdictinoal basis for one claim but NOT the other (eg. P brings a fed. question claim and tacks on a related state claim)
—Remember that a P cannot use suppl. juris. to add a claim against a nondiverse party if the SOLE BASIS for SMJ is diversity
removal under 1441
-Ds (NOT Ps) may remove an action from state court to the federal court that geographically embraces it IF:
—the P could have initially brought the case in fed. court
—generally, if the P could not have brought the case in fed. court then the D CANNOT remove it either
*Note: a D may NOT remove a case if he is sued in his home state AND the only basis for removal is diversity
Venue and “transfer to a more appropriate forum”
-Under Title 28 USC Sec. 1404, the fed. court has the authority to transfer a case to another fed dist. for the convenience of the parites and witnesses and in the interest of justice.
-the new forum MUST have subj matter juris. and personal jurisdiction
-the court will apply the law of the TRANSFEROR forum
motion for transfer to a more appropriate forum
-a motion for transfer to a more appropriate forum should be DENIED if the case could not have been filed there to begin with
*Note: this is different than “transfer to a proper venue” where a case is filed in the wrong venue, and, if transferred, the law of the transferee could would apply (not tested on the MEE)
Summary Judgement Rule 56
-under Summary Judgment Rule 56, a case (or part of a case) is decided in favor of the P or the D WITHOUT a trial
-start essay with: “Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) allows a summary judgment motion to be granted only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
*Note: that a motion for summary judgment may be support by depositions, documents, electronically stored info, affidavits or declarations, stipulations, admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials
burden shifting of Rule 56 Summary Judgment
-the moving party must produce evidence to show there is no genuine issue of material fact;
-the burden then SHIFTS to the nonmoving party, which must then produce evidence to show that there IS a genuine issue of material fact for trial
-the motion is look at in the light most favorable to the NONMOVING party
temporary remedies: preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders
-generally, the party in teh facts seeks a TRO until the court decides whether to grant a preliminary injunction; so discuss both if it comes up
TROs
-can be issued WITHOUT notice to the adverse party (but only in limited circumstances adn for a limited time
-to secure a TRO without notice, the P needs to show a risk of “immediate and irreparable injury”
-the TRO lasts only long enough for the court to consider and resolve a request, but NOT longer than 14 days (unless the court extends it for good cause or the adverse party consents to an extension)
-TROs are considered to be a stopgap measure and last until the court decides whether to grant a preliminary injunction
