CH 4 litigation p 1

Plaintiff

Party that files a Lawsuit.

Defendant

Party who is sued.

Counter claims

Claims against the plaintiff.

Third party defendant

Name of defendant who was not named in the original complaint but is later joined in.

Standing to sue

If someone has the legal right to sue.

Establishing standing to sue

The Plaintiff must allege a case or controversy (legal wrong) and a personal stake in the resolution.

Personal Jurisdiction

Authority over the parties to the case on the part of the court.

Personal Jurisdiction over a plaintiff

Obtained when the plaintiff files the suit.

Personal Jurisdiction over the defendant

Obtained by summons and service of process.

Long arm statutes

Provide for services of process beyond the boundaries of the state.

Constitutionality of long arm statutes

These statutes are only constitutional if they provide the defendant with due process of the law.

Minimum Contacts

Defendant must have minimum contacts within the state.

Minimum Contacts Test

Has the defendant committed a tort within the state? Does the defendant own property within the state that is the subject matter of the lawsuit? Has the defendant entered into a contract within the state or transacted business that is the subject matter of the lawsuit within that state?

Jurisdiction in criminal cases

The crime must have been committed within the state for the court to have jurisdiction over the case.

Jurisdiction over the person of the defendant

Obtained by arrest.

Extradition

Voluntary turning in of prisoner from one state to another by the presiding governors.

Class Action Suits

One or more plaintiffs file suit on their own behalf and on behalf of all other persons who may have a similar claim.

Class certification requirements

The class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, there are questions of law or fact common to the class, and the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interest of the class.

Walmart stores inc. V. Dukes

A class action lawsuit for the respondents of Walmart who sought injunctive and declaratory relief, punitive damages and back pay against Walmart on behalf of themselves and 1.5 million female employees based on the violation of TITLE 7 of the civil rights act of 1964.

Commonality in class action

There are questions of law or fact common to the class.

Class certification denied

It is because there are so many supervisors so everyone was not discriminated against equally.

Res judicata

If you lose you cannot re sue if you lose in trial.