Civil Procedure

Question 1

Diversity Jurisdiction

Answer 1

A federal court has SMJ under diversity jurisdiction if:

Complete Diversity is present - every citizenship represented on the plaintiff’s side of the case must be different than EVERY citizenship represented on the defendant’s side of the case; AND
The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
________________________________________

AIC Side Note:

(a) A claim for injunctive relief may be valued by the benefit to the plaintiff or the cost of compliance for the defendant.
(b) One plaintiff can aggregate all of her claims against one defendant to meet the AIC requirement. One plaintiff can also aggregate all of her claims against multiple defendants if the defendants are jointly liable.
(c) If there are multiple plaintiffs; generally, each plaintiff’s claim must meet the AIC requirement separately (unless supplemental jurisdiction applies).

Question 2

Citizenship for Diversity Purposes

Answer 2

For individuals, citizenship is determined by the individual’s state or country of domicile (i.e., the place of residence where the individual intends to remain indefinitely). An individual can only have one domicile at a time.

Corporations hold dual citizenship:
1. The state or country of incorporation; AND
1. The state or country of its principal place of business (i.e., the “nerve center” - usually where corporate headquarters are located).

Unincorporated associations and partnerships (e.g., unions, trade associations, partnerships, and limited partnerships) are considered a citizen of every state of which its members are citizens.

Question 3

Federal Question Jurisdiction

Answer 3

A federal court MUST have SMJ in order to decide cases before it.

A federal court has SMJ under federal question jurisdiction if the complaint alleges a claim that arises under federal law.

For federal question jurisdiction to apply, the federal question MUST be presented on the face of the plaintiff’s complaint.

Raising a defense** or filing a **counterclaim under federal law does NOT trigger federal question jurisdiction.

Question 4

Venue

Answer 4

Venue determines the judicial district in which a lawsuit may be filed or commenced. 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 or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is located; OR
3. If there is NO district anywhere in the United States that satisfies (1) or (2), a judicial district in which ANY defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction.

Question 5

Individual, Foreign Citizen, Corporation Residence for VENUE Purposes

Answer 5

An individual is deemed to reside in the judicial district where he is domiciled.

A defendant who is NOT a resident of the United States, whether a U.S. citizen or an alien, may be sued in ANY judicial district.

A business entity is deemed to reside in any judicial district where the entity is subject to personal jurisdiction with respect to the action in question.

Question 6

Change of Proper Venue

Change of Improper Venue

Answer 6

If venue is proper, the court may nonetheless transfer the case for the convenience of the parties or witnesses to any court where the case could have been originally filed (i.e., the transferee court must have valid SMJ + personal jurisdiction over the defendant + proper venue).
_____________________________________________________________

If venue is improper, the court MUST:

1. Dismiss the case; OR
2. Transfer the case to a venue in which the case could have been originally filed (i.e., the transferee court must have valid SMJ + personal jurisdiction over the defendant + proper venue).

Question 7

Choice of Law
Change of Proper Venue

Answer 7

If a court transfers a case to another venue, the law that the transferee court must apply depends on whether the original venue was proper and the type of case involved.

If the transferor court had proper venue:

1. In a diversity case, the transferee court must apply the law that would have been applied in the district court that transferred the case.
2. In a federal question case, the transferee court must apply the federal law as interpreted by its own federal court of appeals.

Question 8

Choice of Law
Improper Venue

Answer 8

If a court transfers a case to another venue, the law that the transferee court must apply depends on whether the original venue was proper and the type of case involved.

If the transferor court had improper venue:
1.
1. In a diversity case, the transferee court must apply the choice-of- law rules of the state in which it is located, as opposed to the state law of the district court that transferred the case.
1. In a federal question case, the transferee court must apply the federal law as interpreted by its own federal court of appeals.

Question 9

Compulsory Joinder

Answer 9

A plaintiff MUST join an absent party or face dismissal of his lawsuit if:

• The court has personal jurisdiction over the absentee;
• The absentee’s presence would not destroy subject matter jurisdiction or venue; AND
  Either:
  1. Complete relief cannot be accorded among the other parties to the action without the absentee party; OR

1. 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 or inconsistent obligations.

Question 10

I

Impleader