OneSheet: Civil Procedure Flashcards
Principle 1: Personal Jurisdiction
Personal jurisdiction has to do with what is fair to the defendant.
* Personal jurisdiction can be general (obtained by consent, presence, or domicile) or specific.
Personal Jurisdiction: * If the MEE fact pattern discusses a case that takes place in a federal court, start your essay as follows:
Federal district courts may exercise personal jurisdiction to the same extent as the courts of general jurisdiction of the state in which the district court sits.”
**Personal Jurisdiction: ** If the issue is specific personal jurisdiction, state:
- Then state:
- Look for:
- Then:
“State courts of general jurisdiction may exercise **personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants to the extent authorized by both the state’s long-arm statute **and the **Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment **of the U.S. Constitution.”
“The Due Process Clause of **the Fourteenth Amendment permits states to assert personal jurisdiction **over nonresident defendants who have established minimum contacts with the state such that the exercise of personal jurisdiction would not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.”
Look for “purposeful availment” of the benefits and protections of the state.
Then, examine the quality of the contacts with the state.
Principle 2: Subject-matter jurisdiction (SMJ) is the power of a court to hear a certain type of case.
- Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction—that is, they can only hear certain types of cases.
There are three categories of SMJ that are tested:
- Federal Question Jurisdiction
- Diversity Jurisdiction
- Supplemental Jurisdiction
First category of** subject-matter jurisdiction:**
Federal-question jurisdiction:
- The federal question must appear on the face of the plaintiff’s well-pleaded complaint. It cannot appear in the answer.
- Further, the plaintiff cannot merely anticipate a federal defense in its complaint.
Second category of subject-matter jurisdiction
Diversity Jurisdiction
Cases may be brought under diversity jurisdiction only if two requirements are met:
(1) there must be complete diversity of citizenship
between the plaintiffs and defendants, and
(2) the amount in controversy must be over $75,000.00.
Note that “complete diversity” is not required for class actions; rather, minimal diversity suffices.
RE: SMJ- (1) Diversity Jurisdiction
Party Domiciled
- A person is domiciled:
“where it is her permanent home, a place where the person intends to remain indefinitely, and the place to which the person intends to return when temporarily absent.” - A corporation is domiciled both where it is incorporated and where its principal place of business is located.
▪ Note: look to see where the party is domiciled at the time the lawsuit is filed.
Third category of subject-matter jurisdiction-Supplemental Jurisdiction
Supplemental Jurisdiction
This is an issue when there is a jurisdictional basis for one claim but not the other (e.g., a plaintiff brings a federal question claim and tacks on a related state claim).
* Remember that a plaintiff cannot use supplemental jurisdiction to add a claim against a nondiverse party if the sole basis for SMJ is diversity.
Removal
Defendants (but not plaintiffs) may remove an action
from state court to the federal court that geographically embraces it if the plaintiff could have initially brought the case in federal court.
Generally, if the plaintiff could not have brought the case in federal court, then the defendant cannot remove it either.
Venue
Venue is proper in a district where
(1) any defendant resides if all defendants reside in the same state,
(2) in a district where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or
(3) a substantial part of property that is subject to the action is situated.
Venue: Corporations
A corporate defendant is deemed to reside in any judicial district in which:
It is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced.
To figure out where a corporate defendant resides, divide the state into districts (if it has more than one district) and see if the defendant would be subject to personal jurisdiction in any of those districts.
Summary Judgement
- “Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) allows a summary judgment motion to be granted only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
- “a motion for summary judgment may be supported by depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations, admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials.”
- The moving party must produce evidence to show there is no genuine issue of material fact. The burden
then shifts to the nonmoving party, which must then produce evidence to show that there is a genuine
issue of material fact for trial. The motion is looked at in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.
TRO: Preliminary Injunction
A preliminary injunction is equitable relief with the objective of preserving the status quo.
If it is granted, the matter must be tried within six months unless the parties stipulate or good
cause is shown.
The court must give notice to the adverse party.
There are four factors to consider
(mnemonic=HELP):
(1) harm: the significance of the threat of irreparable harm to the plaintiff if the
injunction is not granted,
(2) evaluation of injuries: the balance between this harm and the injury that
granting the injunction would inflict on the defendant, (3) likelihood of prevailing: the probability that
the plaintiff will succeed on the merits, and
(4) the public interest.
Work Product
- Work product is any material prepared in anticipation of litigation. (If it is not prepared in anticipation of litigation, it is not work product!)
- Written statements given by witnesses might be discoverable even if they are considered work product if the other party can show substantial need and undue hardship.
- However, an attorney’s mental impressions are never discoverable.
Appeal for Non-Final Orders
Exceptions include when there are final orders in cases involving multiple claims and multiple parties and some are still pending—the other parties may be able to appeal their orders;
orders involving:
* injunctions, garnishments, and other temporary remedies;
* interlocutory orders by leave;
* and orders constituting a final judgment on collateral matters.
Issue Preclusion
issues that were actually litigated and decided and essential to the judgment in a previous case cannot be litigated again.
Claim Preclusion
a claim that has been litigated to a final judgment on the merits cannot be relitigated by the parties (or their privies).
