Mid-Term Definitions

Question 1

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Answer 1

Defenses raised by the defendant to limit or excuse liability for the Plaintiff’s loss or they are waived.

Question 2

Common Affirmative Defenses

Answer 2

The most common affirmative defenses are statute of limitations, laches, collateral estoppel, and res judicata

Question 3

Choice of Law

Answer 3

in diversity cases, Federal Court uses the law of the state that first acquires SPV to determine which state’s law is the substantive law used to resolve that action.

Question 4

Class Action

Answer 4

a group of people too numerous for joinder injured as a result of a common question of fact or law collectively sues to obtain relief. Representative must adequately represent the interest of all class members and the injury must be fair and typical of the claimed injury.

Question 5

COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL (issues) and RES JUDICATA (claims)

Answer 5

issues and claims respectively in an adjudicated matter have been fully and fairly litigated judgment is final, and that decision is binding on the parties and their privy.

Question 6

CONCURRENT JURISDICTION

Answer 6

an action can be filed in either a state or a federal court.

Question 7

COUNTERCLAIMS and CROSS-CLAIMS

Answer 7

claims filed after the complaint pursuant to Rule 13 for relief either by the defendant (counterclaims) or a co-party (crossclaims).

Question 8

DAMAGES

Answer 8

Losses the plaintiff suffers caused by the defendant’s actions designed to put the plaintiff in the position he would have been but for the defendant’s actions. General and special damages are designed to compensate the plaintiff for financial losses while punitive damages are awarded in rare cases to punish the defendant.

Question 9

DISCOVERY

Answer 9

obtaining information that is proportional and relevant to the lawsuit that is not otherwise privileged.

Question 10

Compensatory Damages

Answer 10

to put the nonbreaching party in the position she would have been in had the promise been performed so far as money can do this.

Question 11

Punitive Damages

Answer 11

those damages designed to punish and deter a party from future wrongdoing.

Question 12

DIVERSITY JURISDICTION

Answer 12

Federal Courts have jurisdiction over controversies involving state law claims if there is complete diversity of citizenship between all defendants and plaintiffs and the claim is likely to exceed $75,000.00.

Question 13

DUE PROCESS

Answer 13

a defendant must receive notice reasonably calculated to apprise them of the action and the opportunity to be heard prior to the award of any judgment.

Question 14

ESTOPPEL

Answer 14

a position has been taken earlier upon which the opposition has relied and therefore you are bound to that earlier position.

Question 15

EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION

Answer 15

the action can be filed in only one.

Question 16

INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Answer 16

a court order by a judge to act or refrain from acting.

Question 17

What is needed for Injunctive Relief

Answer 17

1) irreparable injury if order isn’t granted; (2) threatened injury outweighs the harm to opposing party resulting from the order; (3) the injunction is not averse to public interest; and (4) the moving party will succeed on the merits.

Question 18

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW

Answer 18

tests whether a reasonable jury based on the evidence submitted could find for the other side.

Question 19

NOTICE PLEADING

Answer 19

requires the Plaintiff to merely put the other side on notice of the facts of the claim and establish prima facie showing that there has been a legal violation.

Question 20

OUTCOME DETERMINATIVE TEST

Answer 20

since diversity suits use state law, results in diversity suits should be the same as they would be in the state court hearing that same matter unless there is a federal rule of civil procedure directly on point or where an important federal right is at stake.

Question 21

PERSONAL JURISDICTION

Answer 21

the power of the court to bind the Defendant to any judgment it renders based upon the Defendant’s minimum contacts. General jurisdiction requires the Defendant to be essentially at home while Specific jurisdiction requires that the Defendant’s minimum contacts give rise to the cause of action or relate to the cause of action in a meaningful way. The Defendant acquiesces to the exercise of personal jurisdiction by failing to raise the issue.

Question 22

MINIMUM CONTACTS

Answer 22

A nonresident defendant’s connections with the forum state (i.e., the state where the lawsuit is brought) that are sufficient for jurisdiction over that defendant to be proper. Lack of minimum contacts violates the nonresident defendant’s constitutional right to due process and “offends traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice”

Question 23

PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE

Answer 23

usual civil standard of proof that requires the claimant to tip the scale ever so slightly in its favor…is it more likely true than not true?

Question 24

REMOVAL JURISDICTION

Answer 24

Defendant has the right to remove an action from a state court to a Federal Court if the action could have otherwise been brought in Federal Court unless removal is based upon diversity and then the Defendant cannot be from that forum

Question 25

RULE 11

Answer 25

attorneys who sign pleadings verify that it is based on existing law or a good faith belief in reversal of existing law, that it is not interposed for any improper purpose such as delay, or harassment and it is a factually and legally meritorious pleading.

Question 26

STANDARD OF PROOF

Answer 26

the level of proof necessary for the plaintiff to convince the trier of fact. The standards of proof are preponderance of evidence (more likely than not), clear and convincing evidence, and beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 27

STATUTE OF LIMITATION

Answer 27

the applicable time period to initiate a cause of action by filing a complaint or risk dismissal if the Defendant raises this affirmative defense.

Question 28

SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

Answer 28

the constitution, statutes, common law, and various treaties provide the court the power to adjudicate the claim or controversy. Without SMJ any judgment the court renders is void and lack of SMJ can be raised by anyone at any time.

Question 29

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT

Answer 29

when there are no material facts in dispute that rises to a triable level the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Question 30

SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION

Answer 30

Federal Court jurisdiction over related claims that arise from the same set of operative facts as the principal claim asserted in Federal Court.

Question 31

WELL PLEAD COMPLAINT RULE

Answer 31

Since Plaintiff is the master of their complaint, Plaintiff can plead only state law claims, and forgo any federal claims, to avoid federal court. If suit is entered in D’s home forum then it can’t be removed on removal jurisdiction as it is in the D’s home state.

Question 32

VENUE

Answer 32

refers to the proper judicial district in which to bring the action based upon where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the cause of action happen or where D is. On forum non-conveniens requests, Court looks at a convenient place to try the case based on the location of the witnesses, the evidence, etc.

Question 33

LACHES

Answer 33

legal defense that you can claim in a civil dispute if an unreasonable amount of time has passed since the incident has actually occurred

Question 34

COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL

Answer 34

allowing appeals from interlocutory rulings (i.e., preceding final judgment) so long as those rulings conclusively decide an issue separate from the merits of the case and would be effectively unreviewable after final judgment

Question 35

SPECIAL DAMAGES

Answer 35

Lost wages.
Medical expenses.
Loss of irreplaceable items.
Replacement or repair of property damage.
Costs associated with lessening their own liability.
Personal care costs.
Cost of living with a disability.
Funeral costs associated with the death of a loved one.

Question 36

GENERAL DAMAGES

Answer 36

physical pain and suffering.
physical disfigurement.
physical impairment.
mental anguish.
loss of companionship (paid to family members in wrongful death cases), and.
lowered qualify of life.

Question 37

Erie Doctrine

Answer 37

binding principle where federal courts exercising diversity jurisdiction apply federal procedural law of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but must also apply state substantive law.