Jurisdiction & Venue Flashcards
Personal Jurisdiction
The ct’s authority over the parties to a lawsuit.
If state can assert PJ, fed. ct. can.
- Cong. can subject a D to PJ in fed. ct. w/out regard to state l.
14th Am. requires the state l. to be const. under the DPC
Court exerts PJ based on:
Residency, Consent/Waiver, Service, Minimum Contacts, At Home
PJ - Residency
Individual: state where they live
Corporation: state of incorporation and principal place of business
Other Entities: maintain headquarters/principal place of business
PJ - Consent/Waiver
Contract: D signed K with a choice-of-forum clause
Appointment: some states require business to appoint an agent in state to receive process
Rule 12 Mot.: a party appears in ct w/out objecting (must object in initial filing)
PJ - Service
A ct has PJ over a party properly served while in state where the suit was filed
- Not const if D was coaxed under false pretenses or if present for a different legal proceeding
PJ - Minimum Contacts
D has established minimum contacts w/ state
- causes harm, does business, has an interest in real property in state
Claim arises from those contacts, and
PJ won’t offend traditional notions of fair play & substantial justice
- burden on D, forum state interests, P’s interest in obtaining relief, interstate judicial system’s interest in efficient resolution, shared interest of states in furthering fundamental social policies
PJ - At Home
Contacts are so substantial that the party is essentially at home (rare)
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Authority of a ct to hear a claim
SMJ - Federal Question Jurisdiction
Fed cts can hear claims presenting a fed question
- const., fed statutes, treaties, and fed common law
Can assert jurisdiction over state law claim raising fed q if fed q is necessarily raised, actually disputed, substantial, & capable of resolution in fed ct
SMJ - Well-Pleaded Complaint Rule
Fed q must arise in P’s affirmative claim, regardless of any defense D might raise
SMJ - Diversity Jurisdiction
Fed cts can hear actions between citizens of different states where the AOC is greater than $75,000
SMJ - Diversity
Must be complete: no P and no D citizens of same state
- Measured at the time the suit is filed, but amended complaints that add/dismiss claims can affect
- Class-Actions with more than 100 people and $5M at stake: diversity need only be minimal (1 P and 1 D diverse)
SMJ - Citizenship
Individuals: one place where reside and intend to remain
- Wanderer Rule: does not change until both change
Corporations: dual citizenship where incorporated and principal place of business
Unincorporated Associations: states where every member is a citizen
Rep of incapacitated person: citizenship of incapacitated party
SMJ - AOC
Ct defers to P’s allegation unless legal certainty it is incorrect
- P need not actually recover that amount
Can aggregate when one P brings multiple claims against one D
SMJ - Supplemental Jurisdiction
Claims falling outside fed q or diversity can piggyback onto claim w/in jurisdiction
Relatedness: must arise from same transaction as the anchor claim
State Prerogatives: if there is a good reason for courts to decline to exercise jurisdiction, they may:
- novel/complex state law issue
- claim substantially dominates over fed q
- anchor claim was dismissed
- other compelling reasons
Sneaky P’s cannot circumvent limitations on diversity through Impleader, required joinder, permissive joinder, or intervention
SMJ - Removal
A D can remove a case from state ct to fed ct if case could have originally been in fed ct
- Counterclaims, cross-claims, and Impleader not enough
- Home State Rule: D cannot remove if jurisdiction based on diversity and D is a citizen of the state where P filed
- Multiple Ds: removal requires all to agree to remove
Timing: must remove w/in 30 days of grounds becoming apparent
- Normally when served w/ complaint
- Runs from moment final D is served
- If based on diversity, D must remove w/in 1 yr of filing unless P attempted to thwart removal
Venue
Dictated by: residency of Ds, location of events giving rise to suit, or if and only if venue is not proper there, where at least one D is subject to PJ
- Residency: if all reside in same state, district where any single D resides
- Humans based on where live
- Others wherever subject to PJ for that suit
- Location of Events: substantial part of events occurred there or substantial part of property subject of action is situated there
- Multiple Ds: always go to location of events
- Gap Filler: if no other district, where any D would be subject to PJ
Venue - Transfer
Can move case between fed cts but not state or foreign
- Convenience: case could have been filed there and transfer necessary for convenience of parties and or witnesses
- Agreement: all parties join request to transfer, don’t need to consider PJ or venue
- Interest of Justice: case filed in improper venue, ct can dismiss or transfer to proper venue
Venue - Forum Non Conveniens
If most convenient forum is not in the US, court cannot transfer but can dismiss w/out prejudice so P can refile in proper country
- Consider same factors as transfer
- Court will often condition dismissal on D waiving any future challenges to SoL or similar defenses
