Important Rules

Question 1

Civ Pro

Erie Doctrine

Answer 1

1. The jurisdiction of federal courts is concurrent with state courts. This means that a particular controversy that is litigable in federal court may also be brought in state court. Where jurisdiction is concurrent, the plaintiff makes the initial decision whether to use state or federal court by filing his case. The defendant then may choose to remove or remain under the state court’s jurisdiction.
2. When determining whether to do an Erie analysis, the threshold question is whether there is a controlling Federal Rule or federal statute. If any federal law controls (is “on point”), there is no Erie problem. However, in the absence of a controlling federal statute or Rule, the question becomes whether the issue at hand is substantive or procedural.
   * In the Erie decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a federal court sitting in diversity must apply state substantive law of the state in which it sits on all substantive issues in a case. This includes the state’s conflict of law rules. For all procedural issues, a federal court sitting in diversity must apply federal procedural/ rules (the FRCP)