Civil Procedure Flashcards
Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
Subject Matter Jurisdiction refers to a court’s competence to hear and determine a case of a specific subject matter. In California, subject-matter jurisdiction refers to the classification of civil cases as “limited” or “unlimited.” An objection to subject matter jurisdiction can be presented by any party at any stage of a proceeding, including on appeal, or may be raised by the court.
Federal Question
Under federal question jurisdiction, district courts have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. A federal question exists if the cause of action is expressly created by or can be fairly implied by federal law. Otherwise, the complaint must involve a real and substantial issue of federal law and its determination must necessarily depend on resolution of the case.
Diversity Jurisdiction
Federal courts have diversity jurisdiction when parties are citizens of different states or citizens of a state and citizens of a foreign state, and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. There must be complete diversity, such that no plaintiff is a citizen of the same state or citizen of the same foreign country as any defendant in the case when the action is commenced.
Diversity: Citizenship of the Parties
In general, a person is a citizen of the state in which he is domiciled, or in the state in which he or she is present and intends to reside for an indefinite period. A person can only have one domicile at a time.
Diversity: Corporate Citizenship
A corporation may be a party to a diversity action. For diversity jurisdiction “a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of every State and foreign state in which it has been incorporated and of the State or foreign state where it has its principal place of business. Thus, corporations, unlike individuals, may be citizens of more than one state for diversity purposes, and diversity jurisdiction will be destroyed if any opposing party is a citizen of nay of the states in which the corporation has citizenship.
The principal place of business refers to the “nerve center” of the corporation. The nerve center is generally the location from which the high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the activities of the corporation. Typically, the nerve center is the corporate headquarters.
Diversity: Amount in Controversy
Amount in controversy must exceed the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and collateral effects of a judgment. The amount in controversy is determined at the time the action is commenced in federal court, or, if the action has been removed to federal court, at the time of the removal. The party seeking to invoke federal court jurisdiction must allege in good faith that the action satisfies the amount-in-controversy requirement.
Injunctive Relief In the case of injunctive relief, when it is difficult to assess a dollar amount, the court determines both the value of the plaintiff’s harm if an injunction is not imposed and the defendant’s cost of complying with an injunction. If the amount of either exceeds $75,000, then the amount in controversy requirement is satisfied.
Aggregation of Claims
If the action involves only one plaintiff and one defendant, then the total value of the plaintiff’s claims is calculated to determine the amount in controversy.
The value of a single plaintiff’s claims against multiple defendants may not be aggregated if the claims are separate and distinct. If the defendants are jointly liable to the plaintiff, then aggregation to meet the amount in controversy requirement is permissible.
If the action involves multiple plaintiffs, then the value of their claims may be aggregated only if the multiple plaintiffs are enforcing a single title or right in which they have a common or undivided interest.
If multiple plaintiffs, each having separate and distinct claims, unite for convenience or economy in a single suit, then each plaintiff’s aggregate claims are judged separately in determining whether the amount-in-controversy requirement has been met. If the aggregate claims of at least one plaintiff separately meet the amount-in- controversy requirement, then the court has diversity jurisdiction over that plaintiff’s claims, provided the diversity-of-citizenship requirement is met. The court may also have supplemental jurisdiction over the claims of any other plaintiff, even though that plaintiff’s claims do not meet the amount-in-controversy requirement
Reduction of Claim After Filing
If events after the action has been filed reduce the amount in controversy below the statutory minimum, then jurisdiction will not be lost, as long as the original claim was made in good faith. Additionally, if the plaintiff eventually recovers an amount that is less than the statutory jurisdictional amount, then that fact will not render the verdict subject to challenge on appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Supplemental Jurisdiction
A federal court may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over additional claims for which the court would not independently have subject-matter jurisdiction, but that arise out of a “common nucleus of operative fact” such that all claims should be tried in a single judicial proceeding.
Removal Jurisdiction
A defendant may generally remove a case to federal district court with subject-matter jurisdiction. Generally, the right to remove is determined by the pleadings filed when the petition to remove is filed. A defendant who wishes to remove must file a notice of removal within 30 days after receipt by or service on that defendant of the initial pleading or summons. An earlier-served defendant may join in the removal filed by a later-served defendant, even if it did not previously initiate or consent to removal.
DJ Diversity must exist at the time of filing of the original action as well as at the time notice of removal is filed, unless the plaintiff dismisses a party who would have destroyed diversity jurisdiction. A matter cannot be removed based on diversity of citizenship more than one year after the action is commenced, unless the plaintiff has acted in bad faith to prevent a defendant from removing the action. No defendant can be a citizen of the state in which the action was filed.
FQ If removal is sought on the basis of FQ jurisdiction, and the federal question claims in the state action are joined with claims that are not independently removable, then the entire case may be removed. The district court must sever and remand any claims in which state law predominates.
Remand If at any time before final judgment it appears the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, then the case must be remanded to the state court from which it came. A party must make a motion to remand on the basis of a defect other than lack of subject matter jurisdiction within 30 days after the filing of the notice of removal. The burden of proof of establishing proper removal is on the removing party. The district court order to remand may require the removing party to pay attorney’s fees and costs if the removing party lacked an objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal.
