Service, Venue, FNC, Transfer Flashcards
A civil action in federal court is commenced:
by filing the complaint with the court.
After the complaint is filed, the plaintiff presents a summons:
to the clerk for signature and seal.
Service MUST occur within:
120 days of the filing of the complaint.
A summons must:
1) be signed by the clerk
2) identify the court and the parties
3) be directed to the defendant
4) state the name and address of either the plaintiff’s attorney or the plaintiff (if unrepresented)
5) Notify the defendant of the time period within which it must appear or file an answer and the potential for a default judgment if the defendant fails to appear within the time specified
6) contain the seal of the court
Service may be effected by any person who is:
over 18 years of age and not a party to the suit.
A defendant may waive service of process, upon requests of the plaintiff, which allows:
the plaintiff to save the costs of service
If a plaintiff fails to effect service according to the rules, the case will:
be dismissed for insufficiency of service of process.
A court will dismiss an action for insufficient service of process even if:
the defendant received actual notice of the action by some means other than service of process.
The venue of an action is:
the federal court in which the action is filed.
The quest of venue is distinct from:
the questions of personal or subject matter jurisdiction
In any action, venue is proper in:
1) The district in which any defendant resides, if all of the defendants reside in the same state;
2) The district where a substantial portion of events occurred; or
3) The district in which any defendant would be subject to personal JX, if there is no other district in which the action could be brought.
Venue is also proper when a party either consents to venue, consents to PJ in the venue, or waives the objection by failing to raise it.
Forum non conveniens:
Allows a court to decline to exercise its JX and dismiss an action if the court where the action was brought would be a seriously inconvenient forum and an adequate alternative forum exists.
Only applies in federal court when the alternative forum is a court in another COUNTRY.
If an action was brought in a proper venue, a federal court may still transfer the action to any other district in which it might have been brought:
for the convenience of parties and witnesses in the interest of justice. The court does not dismiss, but instead transfers to the more appropriate district.
If a case is brought in an improper venue, the court:
shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district…in which it could have been brought. Transfers due to improper venue are appropriate only if the action could originally have been brought in the transferee court.
