Civil Procedure 1

Flashcards for Civil Procedure 1 Lecture Notes

Civil Procedure

Establishes the ground rules for noncriminal cases in the court system, encompassing filing a lawsuit, pretrial procedures, motions, and appeals.

Forum Selection

Determines where to file a case, requiring the forum to have power over defendants or property and the power to hear the type of case.

Personal Jurisdiction (In Personam Jurisdiction)

Refers to power over people (parties in a suit).

In Rem Jurisdiction

Refers to power over property; literally means jurisdiction against a thing.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Determines if the court has the power to hear the claim, deciding whether the case will be in state or federal court.

State Courts

Generally have broad subject matter jurisdiction and can hear federal matters unless a federal court has exclusive jurisdiction.

Federal Question Cases

Cases “arising under” the US constitution, federal treaty, or federal statute.

Diversity of Citizenship Cases

Cases where the plaintiff and defendant are domiciled in different states AND the claim exceeds $75,000.

Diversity Jurisdiction

Addresses concerns that out-of-state parties might not receive a fair trial in state courts.

Complete Diversity

All plaintiffs must be from different states than all defendants; none of the plaintiffs can be from the same state as any of the defendants.

Domicile

A human is a citizen of a state where they are currently domiciled; domicile is maintained until changed.

Change of Domicile

Must be physically present in the state and have intent to remain in the new state permanently.

Corporation Citizenship

A citizen of the states in which it has incorporated and located their principle place of business.

Noncorporate Entities Citizenship

LLCs, partnerships, joint ventures, or trusts have the citizenship of each state where each human member is domiciled.

Supplemental Jurisdiction

If one claim gets the plaintiff into federal court, but the plaintiff has a second claim that doesn’t meet Fed Q or Diversity of Citizenship tests, that second claim can still be heard in federal court if there a “common nucleus of operative fact.”

Removal

If a plaintiff files in state court, but the defendant wants to be heard in federal court, the defendant can motion to remove the case to federal court if (1) there is subject matter jurisdiction over the claim and (2) all defendants must join in the removal motion.

Remand

If a case was improperly removed to Federal Court, the plaintiff can ask for it to be remanded to state court.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction (vs. Venue)

Gets a case into federal court; venue determines which federal court to file in.

Erie Doctrine

In diversity of citizenship federal cases, the federal district court applies the substantive law of the state where it is physically sitting.

Forum Selection Clause

Agreement between parties that if they have a dispute, they will litigate it using laws of a particular state.

Residential Venue

Venue is proper in a federal district court where any one defendant resides, with the caveat that all defendants must reside in the same state.

Businesses Venue

Business defendants reside in any state where they are subject to personal jurisdiction (general or specific).

Transactional Venue

Venue is proper in the place where a substantial part of the claim arose (humans) or where a substantial part of the property involved is located (businesses).

Transfer of Venue

Cases may be transferred if the plaintiff files in an improper district or if the defendant dislikes the plaintiff's choice.

Forum Selection Clause

Agreement by the parties to litigate disputes in a particular place.

Burden of Proof for Transfer

The party seeking the transfer (usually the defendant) has the burden of proving that transferring the case is a good idea.

Forum Non Conveniens

Means "inconvenient forum". This doctrine applies when a plaintiff files a case in federal court, but another court in a different judicial system is the center of gravity for the case.

Personal Jurisdiction

Refers to the court's power over the parties in a case.

Consent (Jurisdiction)

Courts will give effect to that; a plaintiff consents to jurisdiction by filing the claim with her chosen court.

Personal Jurisdiction (Specific)

Does the defendant have sufficient contacts with the forum in a way that it makes it fair and reasonable to exercise personal jurisdiction over her?

Two-Step Analysis for Personal Jurisdiction

The exercise of personal jurisdiction must fall within a state statute, and the defendant has sufficient contact with the state such that the exercise of jurisdiction would be fair.

Long-Arm Statutes

Each state has a long-arm statute, giving its courts personal jurisdiction over nonresidents who do or cause certain things in their state.

Constitutional Due Process

The analysis asks: Does the defendant have sufficient contact with the state such that the exercise of jurisdiction would be fair?

Purposeful Availment

The defendant must have voluntarily reached out to the forum state to take advantage of the state's privileges, protections, or resources

Foreseeability (Jurisdiction)

The defendant must have known or reasonably anticipated that their activities in the forum would render it foreseeable that they could be “hailed into court” there.

Relatedness (Jurisdiction)

Does the plaintiff's claim arise from or relate to the defendant's contact with the forum?

Burden on the Defendant and Witnesses

It must be fair and not put them at a severe or grave disadvantage in the litigation.

State's Interest in Providing a Courtroom

States have an interest in assuring visitors to the state are able to get relief.

General Personal Jurisdiction

If a claim does not arise out of the defendant's contact with the forum, there is no specific personal jurisdiction; general personal jurisdiction may still exist.

At Home in the Forum (Individual)

For a natural person, they are at home in the forum if that's where they're domiciled (their permanent home).

At Home in the Forum (Corporation)

A corporation is at home in the state in which it is incorporated and the state in which it has its principal place of business.

Tag Jurisdiction (Transient Jurisdiction)

A court has jurisdiction over a defendant who was served with process in the state, even if they were just changing planes there.