Jurisdiction and Venue Flashcards
What is federal subject matter jurisdiction?
It is the power of the court over a particular case. This question concerns whether a P can file a claim in the federal court system itself.
There are four ways to get subject matter jurisdiction:
- federal question;
- diversity;
- supplemental;
- removal.
What is federal question jurisdiction?
Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over claims arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States.
A case having a federal question must appear on a fair reading of a well-pleaded complaint. The use of federal law as the basis of a defense is not a federal question.
Where a claim involves state and federal law, there is federal question jurisdiction if:
- it is actually in dispute;
- demands the expertise of federal judges and ought to be resolved as uniformly as possible; and
- is not so commonly present in state law actions that federal courts would end up taking a large portion of state courts’ traditional jurisdiction.
Federal courts have original jurisdiction over admiralty or maritime cases and habeas corpus petitions.
What is diversity jurisdiction?
Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over matters involving litigants who are citizens of different states, US citizens and aliens, or a foreign state and a US citizen if the amount in controversy is more than $75,000.
In determining the amount in controversy, the court will see if it appears to a legal certainty that the P’s claim does not exceed $75,000.
A P may combine or aggregate all claims he has against a single D. Claims against multiple D will not be aggregated or combined to meet the amount in controversy.
Diversity requires complete diversity. There will be no diversity if any P and any D share citizenship of the same state.
Diversity must be met at the time of the filing of the suit.
A party is a citizen of her domicile. Domicile requires a physical presence in the state and the intent to remain in that state indefinitely.
A corporation is a citizen of both the state/foreign country of its incorporation and its principal place of business. That is, its nerve center.
An unincorporated association is the citizenship of all of its members. For purposes of class actions, however, an unincorporated association is a citizen of the state where it is organized and the state it has its principal place of business.
What is supplement jurisdiction?
It allows a federal district court to hear claims over which it would not ordinarily have jurisdiction.
To exercise supplemental jurisdiction over an additional claim, there must be a claim over which a court has original jurisdiction. The piggy back claim must arise out of the same transaction or occurrence as the original claim (Same nucleus of operative facts).
To exercise supplemental jurisdiction over an additional party:
In a diversity case, supplemental jurisdiction may be exercised over the claims of a party if the only reason the other party’s claims do not qualify for diversity jurisdiction is the failure to meet the amount in controversy.
In a diversity case, a court may not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a claim by a P proposed to be joined under Rule 19 (compulsory joinder) or a claim by a P seeking to intervene under Rule 24 (intervention).
In a diversity case, a court may not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over claims by Ps against persons made party to the suit under Rule 14 (impleader), 19, 20 (permissive joinder), or 24.
Even if the additional claim arises out of the same transaction or occurrence and the P is not trying to circumvent diversity jurisdiction, the court may still decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction in the following situations:
- the state law claim raises a novel or complex issue of state law;
- the state law claim substantially predominates over teh claim over which the district court has jurisdiction;
- the court has dismissed all the claims over which it had jurisdiction; or
- in exceptional circumstances, there are other compelling reasons to decline jurisdiction.
What is removal jurisdiction?
A case that was originally brought in state court may be removed to federal court if the P could have brought the case in federal court. A D has the option to remove the case to federal court.
If removal is based on diversity , all of the Ds must be diverse from the P. Removal on the basis of diversity will not be granted if any of the Ds is a citizen of the forum state.
Under the fraudulent joinder rule, the right to removal will not be defeated if a D was fraudulently joined for the purpose of defeating diversity jurisdiction. The party must prove:
- that there is no possibility the P would be able to establish a cause of action in state court against the in-state D; or
- that there was outright fraud in the P’s pleading of jurisdictional facts.
If there are multiple Ds, all Ds must consent to or join in removal.
To remove, a D must file a notice in the federal district court in the district in which the action is currently pending.
Removal must be filed wihtin 30 days of service of the initial pleading or an amended pleading that now offers removal jurisdiction. The 30 day time limit applies to all later joined Ds.
A removal based on diversity jurisdiction may not be removed mroe than one year after the commencement of the action except in the case of P’s bad faith.
What is personal jurisdiction?
It is the power of a court over a particular party.
A court must look at the law of the state the court sits within and the law complies with the US Constitution.
- State law - For a federal court to have personal jurisdiction, a state court must be able to assert personal jurisdiction over the D. Typically, state’s have long-arm statutes that place limitations on a state’s ability to exercise personal jurisdiction over out-of-state Ds.
- Constitutional limits - The state’s personal jurisdiction must comply with constitutional limits under the Due Process Clause.
A state law will be constitutional if it authorizes personal jurisdiction in one of the following circumstances:
- Residency - If the D is domiciled in the forum state, PJ is constitutional. Domicile is that he resides and has intent to remain in that jurisdiction indefinitely.
- Consent - There may be an express consent through agreement. There is an implied consent when the D has engaged in a particular activity that the state has a substantial interest in. A party may also consent by waiving an objection to the suit.
- Service - If the D is physically present and is served with process, PJ is constitutional. This does not apply when the P coaxed him or D was participating in legal proceedings.
- Minimum contacts - Three conditions must be satisfied: a. the D must have established minimum contacts with the forum state; b. the claim against the D must arise from that contact; and c. he exercise of jurisdiction must not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice (look at Asahi and the ridiculousness of jurisdiction). There must be purposeful availment. Purposeful availment is connected to reasonable foreseeability of being haled into court. Unfairness is determined by: a. the burden on the D, b. the interests of the forum state, c. the P’s interests in obtaining relief, d. the interstate judicial system’s interest in efficiency, and e. shared policy interests of the states.
- Substantial business - This is a high bar. The business activity must be so significant that the company is essentially at home in that state.
What is in rem jurisdiction?
The claim is based on the interests of a particular piece of property or thing located within the forum state.
A federal court may exercise this when:
- there is real or personal property of value located within the state where the federal district is located;
- the court seizes the item; and
- the owner of the property received proper notice of the proceeding.
What is quasi in rem jurisdiction?
The claim is based in which attachment of real or personal property is part of the relief requested.
Must meet the following elements:
- there is real or personal property of value located within the state or territorial limits of the federal court;
- the D owns the property;
- the property is being attached or seized; and
- the D has been provided proper notice of the proceedings.
There must be minimum contacts.
What is venue?
Venue dictates not the state but the region within a particular state.
In any action venue is property:
- the district in which any D resides, if all D’s reside in the same state (not the same forum),
- the district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions given rise to the claim occurred or the district in which a substantial part of the property that is the subject of the action is located; or
- the district in which any D would be subject to personal jurisdiction, if there is no other district in which the action could be brought.
Residency of people - where they reside and intend to remain indefinitely.
Residency of entities - where the D is subject to personal jurisdiction. Where there are multiple districts, venue is proper in the district that would have personal jurisdiction if it were it own state.
A court may transfer the venue upon the D’s motion and burden of proof. D must prove: a. the convenience, and b. the court to which the action will be transferred has personal and subject matter jurisdiction.
If a case is brought in an improper venue, a federal court shall dismiss, or, if it be in the interest of justice, transfer.
What is forum non conveniens?
Where the court that the action was brought would be seriously inconvenient forum and an adequate alternative forum exists in a foreign country, a court may dismiss.
Are there any exceptions to complete diversity in the case of a class action?
In class actions where the class contains over 100 person and the amount in controversy exceeds $5,000,000, diversity need only be minimal; that is, federal jurisdiction exists if any single member of the class is diverse from any single D.
