MEE Civ Pro Flashcards
JMOL
A judgment as a matter of law must be made at some point during the trial. The standard is that the court must find that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient basis to find for the party on the issue. Must view evidence in light most favorable to the nonmoving party.
Renewed JMOL
The party must have previously moved for a JMOL at some point during the trial and the grounds for the RJMOL must be on the same grounds as the previous JMOL.
Standard for New Trial
Generally, a new trial may be granted because of some serious error that occurred during the trial. Examples are: error in jury instruction, error in evidence admission, excessive verdict, jury bias or misconduct
Personal Jurisdiction
For a court to have personal jurisdiction it must be authorized by state statute and must be constitutional under the minimum contacts test. This looks to whether the parties have sufficient minimum contacts so that the exercise of personal jurisdiction is fair and reasonable. This can come in form of either specific jurisdiction or general jurisdiction.
General Jurisdiction
Is personal jurisdiction over the defendant for all causes of action if the defendant is considered at home in the forum state.
Specific Jurisdiciton
If the cause of action arises from or relates to the defendant’s contact with the forum state then the court has specific jurisdiction.
Summary Judgment
A motion for summary judgment must be granted, if from the pleadings, affidavits, and discovery materials, it appears that there is not genuine dispute of material fact and thus the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law
Claim Preclusion
For claim preclusion to apply: 1. there must be a valid final judgment on the merits; 2. both parties must be the same (or in privity) ; and 3. the new action must involve the same cause of action in which it arises from the same transaction or occurence
Issue Preclusion
For issue preclusion to apply: 1. the issues in both actions must be the same; 2. there must have been a final judgment as to that issue; 3. the party against whom collateral estoppel is asserted must have had a fair opportunity to be heard on the matter; and 4. the posture of the case must be such that it would not be unfair or inequitable to apply collateral estoppel.
Discovery Standard
Discovery may be had of any matter that is not privileged and is relevant to the claim or defense of any party, including the identity of person having knowledge of relevant facts. The cost of discovery and the needs of the case will also be considered.
Work Product Exception
Work product of lawyer and others prepared in anticipation of litigation is discoverable only on a showing of substantial need and to avoid undue hardship in obtaining the material from other sources
Removal Jurisdiction
A defendant in a state court may remove that case to federal court if it could have been filed originally in federal court under diversity or federal questions. Must be made within 30 days.
Permissive Joinder
Parties may be permissively joined as plaintiff or be joined as defendants whenever: 1. some claim is made by each plaintiff and against each defendant relating to or arising out of the same transaction or occurance; and 2. there is a question of law or fact common to the parties
Supplemental Jurisdiction
For supplemental jurisdiction to be proper, the claim must arise from the same nucleus of operative facts as the claim that invoked SMJ. The addition of an additional plaintiff by means of supplemental JD cannot destroy diversity.
Appeal for Final Judgments
Only final orders are appealable. A final order to one that disposes of whole case (all claims and all parties) on the merits. Typically a dismissal of just one claim is not a final judgment unless the judge makes: 1. an express determination that there is no just reason for delay; and 2. an express direction for the entry of judgment.
