Civ Pro

Question 1

Subject matter jurisdiction

Answer 1

Weather or not the court has power to resolve the claims in the action

Question 2

General subject matter jurisdiction. Who has and what is it?

Answer 2

State courts have general subject matter jurisdiction, meaning they can hear cases that are about any subject

Question 3

Limited subject matter jurisdiction. Who has it, and what is it?

Answer 3

Federal courts have limited subject matter jurisdiction, meaning they are limited on what kinds of cases they can hear.

Question 4

The amount-in-controversy requirement.

Answer 4

Federal courts require that the “matter in controversy” exceeds the value of $75,000 for the court to have subject matter jurisdiction.

Question 5

Must the amount in contreversy be a reasonable amount, legally, for it to be satisfied?

Answer 5

Yes, the amount in controversy must by legally plausible to recover.

Question 6

Can A plaintiff seek $35,000 for a claim worth $100,000?

Answer 6

Yes because the nature of the harm can be such that it might be best remedied by a court order rather than cash.

Question 7

Give me the rules for a single plaintiff’s claims aggregating against a single defendant?

Answer 7

You can add multiple unrelated claims together into one amount to meet amount in controversy requirement.

Question 8

Well Pleaded Complaint Rule

Answer 8

The federal rule in question must be the mother of the cause of action. This is to say the federal rule is what the complaint comes out of.

The complaint must come from a federal law

a federal question must be raised on the face of a plaintiff’s complaint.

Question 9

How do we determine domicile (people)

Answer 9

The last place a person planned to stay indefinitely

Question 10

Susan Gordon goes from Pennsylvania to Ricks College, planning to get her degree and practice nursing in California. After three months at college, she decides she likes Idaho and will stay and practice nursing there after she completes her degree. She brings suit a month after she makes that decision.

Where is Susan’s domicile?

Answer 10

Idaho, because it’s the last pace she has a plan to stay indefinitely

Question 11

How to determine domicile (corporations)

Answer 11

They have a “nerve center” (headquarters) domicile and a domicile in where they are incorporated

Question 12

Partnerships and unicorporated groups of citizens are treated…

Answer 12

as groups of litigants (p73)

Question 13

Complete Diversity Rule

Answer 13

Essentially, no plaintiff can have domicile in an area where any defendants have domicile, in that case it becomes minimal diversity or no diversity

Works for other countries and other states

Question 14

Grable Test

Answer 14

Where the complaint is a state issue that rests so necessarily upon important federal legal issues, though, the court can grant that federal jurisdiction in select cases.

Question 15

Mottley, with the railroad tickets, why doesn’t it work in federal?

Answer 15

Mottley is upset about a breach of contract, not a violation of federal law and the defenses reasoning was that they were trying to follow a statute, but that’s not in the complaint by well pleaded complaint rule

Question 16

Personal Jursidicton

Answer 16

Court’s power over the parties in the case

Question 17

Under what clause and amendment does personal jurisdiction come from. What does being a personal right mean for what you can do with it?

Answer 17

Due process clause of the 14th amendment

Since it is a personal right it can be waived.

Question 18

What is a long arm statute?

Answer 18

A long-arm statute is a statute that allows for a court to obtain personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant on the basis of certain acts committed by an out-of-state defendant, provided that the defendant has a sufficient connection with the state.

Question 19

Forum state

Answer 19

The state where cause of action is being filed

Question 20

When is a defendant subject to specific personal jurisdiction?

Answer 20

1. Deliberate contacts
2. Claim arises from those contacts; and
3. The exercise of jurisdiction would be fair and reasonable (lets say 2/5 required (what case??))

Question 21

What factors make Personal Jurisdiction fair and reasonable?

Answer 21

1. Forum state’s interest in adjudicating the dispute
2. The plaintiffs interest in obtaining convenient and effective relief

3.the interstate judicial system’s interest in obtaining the most efficient resolution of controversies.
4.if it is expeditious to grant reasonableness, this is a reason to.
5. The shared interest of the several states in furthering - need clearer fundamental substantive policies
6. The burden on the defendant

Question 22

Specific personal jurisdiction

Answer 22

Personal jursidiction that is linked - through the case.

Question 23

General Personal jurisdiction

Answer 23

The conduct at hand could have happened anywhere, and the court would still have personal jurisdiciton

Question 24

International Shoe

Answer 24

Minimum contacts test

Question 25

Is one sale sufficient to constitute “purposeful availment” (purposeful benefits/contact with the state)

Answer 25

Mcgee - if the defendant intentionally cultivates the sale and maintains a relationship with the customer

Question 26

Minimum contacts decide what?

Answer 26

Weather you have purposely availed yourself of the privilege of conducting activities in the forum state

Question 27

World-Wide Volkswagen

Answer 27

Minimum contacts Is not about mere foreseeability, its about the defendants purposeful availment.

We can ask “if the car caused the damage…”????

Question 28

What is the first question to ask and thing to do on your civ pro exam?

Answer 28

Read the long arm statute, and ask “if the defendants activity is covered by the long arm statute.”

Question 29

California long arm statute

Answer 29

A Court of this state may exercise jurisdiction not inconsistent with the Constitution of this state or the United States.

Question 30

When will forum selection clauses be enforced? Give an example

Answer 30

Generally, when the forum selected bears a reasonable relation to the parties or their contract.

Google requires that you resolve all claims in Santa Clara

Question 31

Two limits on courts’ abilities to transfer

Answer 31

Transferee

• Must be proper venue
• Must be a court in which the case originally “Might have been brought”

Question 32

What does “might have been brought” mean when it comes to court transfer?

Answer 32

Traditionally, the court must have SMJ and PJ without the need for consent or waiver though now it can be a court with improper venue
if;
all parties consent

Question 33

Creation test or Mottley Rule

Answer 33

Its what makes a something a federal question, but it is not the same thing as giving federal question jurisdiction necessarily.

FQJ only if P relys on federal law as the source of their complaint.

Question 34

Can we assign PJ to a group of cases when only one comes out of the defendants contacts with the forum?

Answer 34

No, a court must have PJ over the parties for each claim, even if they are attempting to be tried together.

Question 35

A case has multiple claims, or the other way around?

Answer 35

A case can have multiple claims

Question 36

What questions should I ask for a personal jurisdiction question?

Answer 36

Does the statute allow personal jursidiction?

Does personal jurisdiction comport with due process?

Question 37

What ways can prove subject matter jursidiction?

Answer 37

Diversity of citizenship(amount-in-controversy)
or;
Federal question

Question 38

What is a natural person?

Answer 38

A person who is not a corporation

Question 39

An natural person is a state citizen

Answer 39

The state they are domiciled in, if they are a U.S citizen

Question 40

Citizens of a state require Domocile and

Answer 40

Citizenship of the U.S.A

Question 41

Article III and SS2 and 28 U.S.C SS1331

Answer 41

Because the constitution by itself does not grant congress SMJ, article III combined with 28 USC SS1331 grants them SMJ by FQ jurisdiction

“Arising Under”

Question 42

Diversity case cannot be removed, even if legitimate under 1441b2…

Answer 42

If any defendant is a citizen of the state in which the claim was brought.

Question 44

Asahi

Answer 44

O’ conner: That one’s products end up in a state and nothing more does not show purposeful availment.

Brennan: You don’t need more, and the benefits of profit balance out the burdens of litigation

Question 45

DO NOT COMPARE CASE APPROACHES FOR SMJ OR PJ

Answer 45

Don’t do it

Question 46

one sentence about in rem and an example

Answer 46

Jurisdiction based on the thing itself’s connection to everything - eminent domain

Question 47

One sentence of quasi in rem and an example

Answer 47

Jurisdiction based on ones connection to a thing - Dispute over who owns land.

Question 48

Taking part in procedures in the forum state

Answer 48

makes you consent to PJ there

Question 49

Filing a counterclaim under specific SMJ categories(WRITE THIS CARD BETTER)

Answer 49

Allows you to move it to that

Question 50

Distinguish stream of commerce from Volkswagen

Answer 50

stream of commerce is through the supply chain, Volkswagen is acts from the end consumer

Question 51

Marks rule

Answer 51

No majority opinion in the supreme court, narrowest majority ground becomes the law

Question 52

McIntyre Facts

Answer 52

Defendant was British company that sold
machines through an independent distributor
located in Ohio

Distributor sold one machine to a customer
in New Jersey

Defendant’s sales representatives attended
trade shows in the United States (though not
in New Jersey)

Plaintiff was injured by machine in New Jersey,
sued defendant and lost

Question 53

What does McIntyre show?

Answer 53

That one cannot sue a foreign company based on stream of commerce PJ when they have not specifically targeted a state with advertising