Subject Matter Jurisdicton Flashcards
SMJ is about the court’s power over . . .
the case
State courts have _____ SMJ
General
A citizen of Bolivia sues a citizens of Australia concerning an automobile crash in China. Can a state court in NM hear the case?
Yes. Can hear any case basically
Federal courts have ____ SMJ
Limited
Two main types of cases a federal court can hear?
Diversity of citizenship
Federal question
T or F? Diversity of citizenship includes alienage.
True
2 requirements for diversity?
Case is either between citizens of different states OR between a citizen of a state and a citizen of a foreign country; AND
Amount in controversy exceeds $75k
Explain the complete diversity rule.
Diversity requires that the same state not appear in both sides of the litigation.
Alien admitted to US for permanent residence. She is domiciled in a US state. Is she considered an alien or a citizen?
Alien
P (AZ) sues D (green card alien domiciled in AZ) in federal court. Alienage? Explain.
No. Statute prohibits SMJ when a GC alien is domicile in the same US state as a litigant on the other side of the case.
P (US citizen domiciled in Japan) sues D (CA) in federal court. Diversity? Alienage? Explain
Neither. There is no alienage, because P is a US Citizen. However, P cannot be considered a US citizen for purposes of diversity because he is domiciled in Japan. Domicile controls.
State of citizenship is based on . . .
Domicile
Two requirements for domicile?
Physical presence
Intent to make that place your permanent home.
At what point in time will the court test for diversity?
When the action is filed.
What is/are the citizenship(s) of a corporation?
State or country of incorporation AND
State or country of PPB
T or F? A corporation cannot be a citizen of more than one state.
False
XYZ Corp (inc. in OR with PPB in UT) sues D (UT). Is there diversity?
No. UT on both sides.
A corporations PPB is where its managers . . . .
Direct, coordinate, and control corporate activities.
A PPB is often referred to as the _______ ______.
Nerve center.
A Co. is inc. in IN and has its headquarters in OH. It has enormous manufacturing plants in AL and SC, in which it employs tens of thousands of workers and does billions of dollars worth of business. Is Acme a citizen of AL or SC? Explain.
Neither. Not inc. there nor PPBed there.
What is the citizenship of an unincorporated association (Partnership or LLC)?
Citizenship of all its members.
When determining the citizenship of a limited partnership, do you include the citizenships of the limited partners?
Yes
LLC is formed in WI and has its PPB in MI. It members are (1) an individual, who is a citizen of NY, and (2) a corp., which is incorporated in TX with its PPB in CA. What are the citizenships of the LLC?
NY, TX, and CA.
Decedents, minors, and incompetents must sue or be sued through a _______
Representative
When a decedent, minor, or incompetent is involved in a suit, whose citizenship matters: theirs or the rep?
Theirs
Will legal costs and interest count toward the $75,000+ minimum?
No
Whatever the P claims as the amount in controversy in a diversity claim is OK unless. . .
It is clear to a legal certainty that she cannot recover more than $75k
What could be true of a P who is awarded less than $75k?
Could be forced to pay D’s litigations costs
Costs are what?
The basis expenses of litigation.
Costs do NOT include . . .
Atty’s fees.
Can factually unrelated claims be aggregated by one P to meet the pleading requirements?
Yes
P 1 sues D for $40k. P2 sues the same D in the same case for $50k. Can we aggregate? Expain.
No. Cannot aggregate claims not asserted by a single P against a single D.
P sues joint tortfeasors for $76,000 total. Ok? Explain.
Yes. For joint claimants, use the total value of the claim.
P sues D for an injunction to tear down part of his house that block’s P’v view. Two tests, if either is met, most courts say OK for diversity.
- Does the blocked view decrease the value of P’s property by more than $75k?
- Would it cost D more than $75k to comply with the injunction?