Diversity Jurisdiction - Part B

Question 1

does the plaintiff have to be certain that he can collect $75K in a diversity action?

Answer 1

no, just needs to be a good faith allegation (and it is okay if he collects less)

Question 2

what is the exception to the good faith allegation?

Answer 2

only when it appears to a legal certainty that the AIC will not be met, will the court dismiss the case for lack of AIC

Question 3

what is aggregation?

Answer 3

Adding two or more claims to meet the amount requirement

Question 4

when is aggregation allowed?

Answer 4

one plaintiff v one defendant, plaintiff can aggregate all her claims regardless of whether the claims are related

(and obviously for supplemental jurisdiction)

Question 5

when is aggregation not allowed?

Answer 5

one plaintiff v 2 or more defendants; two or more plaintiffs v. one defendant

Question 6

how does the AIC work if there are two or more defendants that are jointly liable?

Answer 6

if def are jointly liable, they are treated as one defendant. thus if plaintiff sues two defendants on a theory of joint liability, seeking a total of $75,001, the aic req is satisfied