Venue Flashcards
Venue Hypos!
Snoopy, who lives and works in the Northern District of Ohio, sues Charlie Brown Corporation for a defamatory statement made about him by an officer of the corporation. Charlie Brown is incorporated in Maryland and has large factories in Atlanta, Georgia (in the Northern District of Georgia), and Nashville, Tennessee (in the Middle District of Tennessee). The statement about Snoopy was made in Philadelphia, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As a result of the statement, Snoopy was fired from his job. If Snoopy sues Charlie Brown, Inc., which of the following districts would be proper venues?
a. The District of Maryland?
b. The Middle District of Tennessee?
c. The Southern District of Georgia?
d. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania?
a. Since CB is incorporated in Maryland, the district of Maryland would be proper because there is diversity jx (assuming that the damages Snoopy is seeking exceeds $75,000).
b. Middle District of Tennessee would be proper if CB Corp considers Tennessee it’s principle place of business.
c. No, the Southern District of Georgia would not be proper. If CB Corp considered Georgia it’s principle place of business Snoopy would have to file in the Norther District of Georgia.
d. Eastern District of Pennsylvania would be the proper venue since statements made there are what gave rise to the lawsuit (specific PJ). Snoopy and CB have diversity jx as well, assuming the damages sought are over $75,000.
Suppose Snoopy sues both Charlie Brown, Inc. and Lucy, the officer who made the defamatory statement. Lucy lives in Atlanta (Northern District of Georgia). Which of the following districts is a proper venue?
a. The Northern District of Georgia?
b. The Southern District of Georgia?
c. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania
d. The Middle District of Tennessee?
a. The Northern District of Georgia would be a proper venue if CB Corp considers their principle place of business to be there and because Lucy lives there.
b. The Southern District of Georgia would not be a proper venue still. CB Corp has its principle place of business in the Northern District of Georgia AND Lucy lives in the Northern District of Georgia.
c. Since Lucy gave the statement about Snoopy that gave rise to the lawsuit in Philadelphia (Eastern District of Pennsylvania) this would be a proper venue to file a lawsuit.
d. If CB Corp considers Tennessee its principle place of business instead of Georgia, this would be a proper venue to bring suit.
JT, from Massachusetts, sues Lance from Louisiana, in Massachusetts Superior Court, for an allegedly libelous statement Lance made in Louisiana. He bases venue on a statute authorizing venue in the county where the plaintiff resides. He gets jx over Lance by serving him with process in Massachusetts while he is there at a convention. Lance removes to the federal district court for the District of Massachusetts, and then files a motion to dismiss for improper venue, claiming that the District of Massachusetts is not a proper venue under sec. 1391. Should the motion be granted?
No. Because Lance was served in Massachusetts, the state of Massachusetts has PJ over Lance. Since Lance resides in Louisiana and JT is from Massachusetts, there is also diversity jx (assuming that JT is seeking $75,000+ in damages). Sec. 1391(c) states that a venue is proper when the jx has PJ over a defendant.
JT brought suit in state court and chose one which was a proper venue under state law. Removal allows Lance to get the case out of the state court and into federal court, but it does not provide a means for avoiding trial in a state where suit was properly brought under the state rules.
Sec. 1391 does NOT apply to cases removed to federal court: it only applies to cases COMMENCED in district court. The proper “venue” for a removed action is “the district court of the US for the district and division embracing the place where such [state court] action is pending.” 28 USC s. 1441(a)
Snape sues Olivander’s Wand Shop for the defamatory statement made by an officer at Olivander’s. He brings the action in the Eastern istrict of Pennsylvania, where the statement was made, basing venue on 28 USC sec. 1391(a)(2). Olivander’s moves to dismiss the action on the ground that, when he was hired, Snape signed a contract that included a forum selection clause requiring all suits arising from his employment to be filed in the District of Maryland. Should the motion be granted?
Yes. Olivander’s motion will probably be granted. A forum selection clause is an agreement between parities that suits between them will filed in a particular court or state. As long as this clause was fairly communicated to both parties and are not otherwise commercially unreasonable and Snape had an opportunity to negotiate over the forum selection clause and chose to accept it, the court will likely enforce it.
Becca, a citizen of Maine, sues Ringling Brothers, Inc. for injuries suffered when Bozo, a Ringling Brothers’ clown, fails to secure the door on a lion cage while the train is refueling in Bangor, Maine, and Leo, a trained lion, escapes. Ringling Brothers is incorporated in Wisconsin with its principle place of business in Manhattan, in the southern District of NY. The circus has its winter quarters in Florida, has permanent facilities for training performers in the Northern District of Ohio, and performs for two or three weeks each year in every state on the eastern seaboard.
a. Could the suit be brought in federal district court in Maine? (Maine only has one judicial district).
b. Could the suit be brought in the Northern district of NY (NY has Southern, Northern, Easter, and Western Districts)
c. Could the suit be brought in any federal district court in Ohio?
d. Could suit be brought in any federal district court in NJ?
a. Yes, because the incident giving rise to the lawsuit occurred in Maine giving Maine PJ over Ringling Bros. and Additionally there is diversity jx (assuming the lawsuit exceeds $75,000) since Becca is a citizen of Maine and RB is a citizen of Wisconsin and NY.
b. No. The proper venue would be the Southern District of NY.
c. General jx since the lawsuit did not give rise out of actions within Fed. Dist. of Ohio. However, RB has continuous and systematic contacts within the state of Ohio, personally availing themselves to Ohio’s laws. There is liability for RB by training performers in Ohio, so it is not unreasonable for them to expect to be hailed into court there. There is still diversity jx therefore a federal district court would be proper as well.
d. Probably not since they only perform 2-3 weeks each year in every state on the eastern seaboard. This makes their contacts with that state significantly limited and unlikely to expect to be hailed into court there.
