Civil Procedure Flashcards
What are the requirements for personal jurisdiction?
There are three types of personal jurisdiction: specific, general, and tag jurisdiction.
A court may have specific jurisdiction over a defendant. The exercise of specific jurisdiction must comport with a state’s long arm statute and the Constitution. If the long-arm statute exercises personal jurisdiction to the same extent as the Constitution, the analysis only focuses on the Constitutional analysis. The Constitutional analysis for specific jurisdiction looks at whether the defendant has minimum contact with the forum state, the relatedness between the plaintiff’s claim and the forum state, and fairness. Minimum contacts means the defendant must have purposefully availed himself of the rights and privileges of the forum state such that it is reasonably foreseeable that he could be hailed there. Relatedness means the plaintiff’s claim arises out of the defendant’s contact with the forum state. Fairness refers to balancing the interests of the plaintiff, the defendant, and the state.
A court may also have general jurisdiction over a defendant. General jurisdiction requires the defendant to be domiciled in the forum state. A person is domiciled in a place where he is physically present and he intends to stay in this place indefinitely for the indefinite future. A corporation is domiciled in their places of incorporation and their principal place of business. Courts also have general jurisdiction over corporate defendants if they are registered to do business in a state and have appointed an agent for service of process there.
A court has tag jurisdiction over a defendant if the defendant is served with process in the forum state. Under the “bulge rule,” there is personal jurisdiction over a party if he is served in a district in the United States and not more than 100 miles from the federal court that issued the summons regardless of his contacts with the forum state. However, tag jurisdiction does not apply to a defendant being sued in his professional capacity if the defendant is served with process on the forum state while taking a personal vacation.
What are the requirements for service of process?
Service of process includes the summons and the complaint. Process must be provided by a non-party to someone over the age of 18 within 90 days of filing the complaint. Process can be provided to someone other than the party if the person is of suitable age and discretion (18 or older) and the person resides at the defendant’s usual place of abode. Process may also be served on agents or according to state law methods.
What are the requirements for subject matter jurisdiction?
There are two types of subject matter jurisdiction: diversity and federal question.
Diversity jurisdiction is met if none of the plaintiffs share the same state citizenship with any of the defendants (or if one party is a citizen of a state and the other party is a citizen of a foreign country) and the amount in controversy is greater than $75,000. A person is domiciled in a place where he is physically present and he intends to stay in this place indefinitely for the indefinite future. A corporation is domiciled in their places of incorporation and their principal place of business (the “nerve center”). Partnerships and limited liability companies are domiciled wherever its members are domiciled. A single plainitff can aggregate multiple claims to reach the amount in controversy, but multiple plaintiffs cannot aggregate their claims together to meet this amount.
Federal question jurisdiction is at least one claim in the plaintiff’s well-pleaded complaint arises under federal law. This asks if the plaintiff is enforcing a federal right.
What are the rules for removal?
A defendant can remove a case to federal court within 30 days of service of process. Other defendants can file their own motions for removal or consent to removal, but all defendants must agree to removal. If removal is granted, the defendant removes to the district court embracing the state court where that case was filed, even if venue would not be proper in this new court. In a diversity case, the defendant cannot remove the case if the defendant is a citizen of the forum state or more than one year has passed since the plaintiff first filed the case in state court. A plaintiff can remand the case to state court for any non-SMJ reason within 30 days of the notice of removal.
What is supplemental jurisdiction?
A part may invoke supplemental jurisdiction on a new claim (1) if there is an independent basis for jurisdiction over the claims (diversity or federal question) or (2) if the added claim is part of the same common nucleus of operative fact as the claim that satisfied SMJ. A defendant can invoke supplemental jurisdiction if the plaintiff’s claim satisfies subject matter jurisdiction. In diversity cases, plaintiffs normally cannot invoke supplemental jurisdiction. However, a plaintiff can invoke supplemental jurisdiction if the case involves more than one plaintiff, at least one of the plaintiffs satisfies diversity jurisdiction, and the other plaintiff, who is diverse but raises a claim that does not meet the amount in controversy, arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff that satisfies diversity jurisdiction.
How does a judge determine whether state law applies in a federal diversity jurisdiction case?
Courts will apply the Erie Doctrine. First, courts will determine whether there is a federal law on point that directly conflicts with the state law and forces federal law to govern. Second, if this is not the case, courts will apply state law to substantive issues such as conflicts (or choice) of law, elements of a claim or defense, rules for tolling the statute of limitations, and the standard for granting a new trial because the jury’s damages award was excessive. Third, if neither of these is the case, the court must determine whether the issue is substantive (meaning state law applies) and courts will consider whether the issue is outcome determinative, the interests of state and federal systems, and whether ignoring state law will encourage forum shopping.
What are the requirements for venue?
There are two types of venue: transactional and residential.
A court is a proper transactional venue if a substantial part of the claim or a substantial part of the property involved in an area covered by this court.
A court is a proper residential venue if ALL the defendants reside in an area covered by this court. A human resides in the federal district where he is domiciled. A corporation resides in the federal district courts where it is subject to personal jurisdiction. If all the defendants reside in the same state, venue is proper in any of the federal district courts in the state, even if not all the defendants reside in the same federal district court.
If neither of these are appropriate, the venue will be proper wherever the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction.
What are the rules for venue transfer?
If the original venue is proper in a diversity case, the party seeking the transfer must show that public (e.g., what law applies, what community should be burdened with jury service, the desire to keep a local controversy in a local court, etc.) and private interest factors (e.g., convenience) weigh in favor of transfer. In this case, the transferee court will apply the choice of law rules of the transferor court, unless a valid forum selection clause states otherwise. Courts will only look at the public interest factors for a venue transfer based on a forum selection clause. The only exception is that parties can consent to transfer to a new proper or improper venue. However, the defendant(s) must be subject to personal jurisdiction in the transferee court.
If the original venue is improper in a diversity case, courts will usually grant the transfer or dismiss the case. The parties cannot consent to a new proper or improper venue. In this case, the transferee court will apply its own choice of law rules.
If a proper venue is located outside the United States judicial system, a court may apply the same public and private interest factors under the doctrine of forum non-conveniens to determine if the case needs to be dismissed in favor of transferring the case to a court outside the United States. This court must be available and adequate.
What is the pleading standard?
A plaintiff must plead sufficient facts to support a plausible claim. In cases involving, fraud, mistake, or special damages, the plaintiff must plead with particularity and specificity.
What are the rules for amending the pleadings?
The plaintiff may amend their complaint within 21 days of serving the complaint, the defendant serving their Rule 12 response, or the defendant serving their anwer while a defendant may amend their answer within 21 days of serving it. Alternatively, the court may grant leave to amend if justice so requires. If the defendant’s first response was the answer, the defendant can amend the answer to include the waiveable defenses.
A pleading can be amended to include a new claim and change a defendant if the amended pleading relates back to the original pleading, meaning the pleading concerns the same conduct, transaction, or occurrence as the original pleading. If a defendant is being changed, the defendant must also have had knowledge of the case and known that she would have been named originally but for the mistake.
What does a party certify when it submits a paper to the court?
A party certifies (1) that the paper is not for an improper purpose, (2) the legal contentions are warranted by law or a nonfrivolous argument for a law change, and (3) the factual contentions and denials have evidentiary support or are likely to after further investigation.
What is the safe harbor rule for sanctions?
A party seeking to sanction an opposing party must serve the motion for sanctions on the opposing party. The opposing party then has 21 days to fix the problems and avoid sanctions, otherwise the motion is filed with the court.
What are the rules for joinder (think plaintiffs)?
Permissive Joinder: Claims by multiple plaintiffs against multiple defendants must (1) be part of the same transaction or occurrence and (2) involve at least one common question of law or fact. There must be SMJ over these claims.
Compulsory Joinder: An party not joined to the case may be a necessary absentee party. In this case, joinder may be necessary where (1) the court cannot accord complete relief to the existing parties, (2) the absentee’s interest may be harmed if he is not joined (most common), or (3) the absentee claims an interest that subjects a party to a risk of multiple obligations. Joint tortfeasers are never necessary.
Indespensible Party: To add an absentee party, the court must have PJ over the absentee and SMJ over any claims brought by or against the absentee. If the absentee party cannot be joined (e.g., no PJ), courts must determine whether to proceed or dismiss the case. Courts will look at the (1) the extent of prejudice to the absentee or available parties, (2) the extent to which the prejudice can be reduced or avoided by means of protective provisions in the judgment, the shaping of relief, or other measures, (3) the adequacy of a judgment rendered without the absentee, and (4) whether the plaintiff will have an adequate remedy in another forum if the case is dismissed for nonjoinder.
What type of claims can a defendant bring?
A defendant may bring counterclaims against a plaintiff. If these claims arise from the same transaction or occurrence as the plainitff’s claim, the defendant must raise these compulsory counterclaim, otherwise he waives them. A defendant can also bring crossclaims against a co-party if these claims arise from the same transaction and occurrence as the underlying action, but these claims are not compulsory. There must be SMJ over counterclaims and crossclaims. Counterclaims and crossclaims may be subject to supplemental jurisdiction.
What are the rules for impleader (think defendants)?
An impleader claim is usually brought by the defendant and tries to shift liability from the defendant to a third party. This typically involves claims for indemnity or contribution. To implead a third party, the defendant must file a complaint against the the third party and serve it on the third party. SMJ is required for claims brought against impleaded third parties, but venue need not be proper. Defendant’s claims against impleaded third parties may be subject to supplemental jurisdiction.
