Civil procedure Uworld

Question 1

Requirements for specific jurisdiction

Answer 1

A. a federal court has specific personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant if
1. the forum state has a long-arm statute that authorizes jurisdiction under the specific circumstances and
2. applying that statute complies with due process:
(1) plaintiffs claim arises from or is closely related to the defendant’s minimum contacts with the forum state AND
(2) the exercise of jurisdiction complies with notions of fair play and substantial justice

Minimum contacts: when defendant purposefully avails him/herself of the state’s protections and benefits so that the defendant should reasonably foresese being sued there, auch wenn defendant never physically enters the forum state (eg committing tort in one state with intent that effects will be felt in forum state)

Question 2

Subject-matter jurisdiction

Answer 2

A. Diversity jurisdiciton
1. parties are citizens of different states (bei class action zählen nur die named opposing parties, citizenship determined on the date that plaintiffs complaint is filed, es kommt immer auf die unterschiedlichen Staaten an, Bsp. auch diversity auch bei USA citizen v foreign, aber nicht bei California citizen v foreign, der california resident ist)
2. and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000

B. Federal-question jurisdiction: when the face of the plaintiff’s well-pleaded complaint asserts a claim arising under the Constitution, a federal law or a treaty. A complaint is well-pleaded when its jurisdictional statement shows that the federal issue is a necessary element of the plaintiff’s cause of action

Question 3

Calculation of amount in controversy

Answer 3

• may aggregate joined claims against a single defendant, bei einem plaintiff auch wenn die claims an sich eigentlich unrelated wären
• however costs and interest are excluded
• attorney’s fees je nachdem ob vom Staat recovery zugelassen
• egal ob im Nachhinein nur geringere Summe erstritten wurde

Question 4

Venue und Transfer of venue?

Answer 4

= federal judicial district where a case may be heard

a) transfer from proper venue to any other proper venue: for convenience of parties/witnesses & in the interest of justice

b) transfer from improper venue if interest of justice requires or dismiss case

Question 5

Suing governemnt

Answer 5

A. official capacity: special venue rules
1. where any defendant resides
2. where substantial portion of events occurred or property located
3. where plaintiff resides if no property involved
–> send process via registered or certified mail to officer or employee plus serve US government (us attorney for district and US attorney general)

B. Individual capacity: general venue statute
1. where any defendent resides, if all defendants in the same state
2. where substantial portion of events occurred or property located
3. where any defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction if neither of above applies
–> serving wie individual plus serve US government (us attorney for district and US attorney general) (if not, court must allow plaintiff reasonable time to cure that failure)

Question 6

Grounds for personal jurisdiction

Answer 6

A. Specific jurisdiction: minimum contacts Regel
B. Genral jurisdiction: continuous & systematic contacts (persons state of residence, corporation state of incorporation or headquarters)
C. Other grounds: 1. Service of process, 2. Consent (insb. druch forum selectdion clause)

Question 7

Summons and complaint

Answer 7

summons: order to appear in court
complaint: initial pleading that starts civil action & states basis for plaintiff’s claim

Question 8

Remove of a case

Answer 8

1. defendant (only! auch nicht im counterclaim sonst) can remove a case from state to federal court, if (1) federal has subject-matter jurisdicdtion, (2) consent of all other defendants (not plaintiff obviously and (3) file a notice within 30 days of receipt of the initial complaint or service of the summons, whichever period is shorter (4) copy of notice must also be delivered to the state court and the other parties

Achtung: nur defendants können das machen, die listed in the plaintiff’s complaint sind, nicht solche, die dem suit nur gejoined sind

2. plaintiff (idR) can request that federal district court return the case to state court by filing a motion to remand based on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction or a procedural error in the removal, federal may also remand sua sponte (voluntarily)
3. order to remand typicallyl not appealable, appellate courts lack jurisdicdtion over such appeals
   Ausn.
4. class actions appealed within 10 days
5. civil-rights issues
6. removal by federal governemtn/agency/officer
7. federal deposit insurance corporation

Achtung: home-court-advantage rule: rule prohibits removal when 1. subject-matter jurisdiction arises from diversity jurisdictoin AND 2. defendant is a citizen of the state where the case was filed, dann idR motion to remand erfolgreich, weil remove nicht zugunsten des home-court-defendants durchgeführt werden soll

Question 9

Serving process on defendant-organization

Answer 9

a) following the rules fo the state where the cout is located (ie the forum state) or where service is made OR
b) delivering process to an officer, managing or general agent, or agent authorized by appointment or law to receive service AND if required by statute, mailing process to the defendant

Question 10

Defendant waives the defense that process was improperly servged?

Answer 10

if it is not asserted in
a) pre-answer motion OR
b) defendant’s answer
whichever occurs first

Question 11

Supplemental jurisdiction

Answer 11

If claim shares common nucleus of operative facts as claim within court’s original jurisdiction

Ausn. when original claim is based solely on diversity jurisdiction, supplemental jurisdiction is barred if the supplemental claim:
a) would contaminate diversity of citizenship OR
b) seeks 75,000 or less and is made by a plaintiff (1) against parties added through joinder, intervention, or impleader or (2 )seeking to join through compulsory joinder or intervention

Außerdem: court MAY decline jurisdiction if
1 claim raises novel/comple issues of state law
2. claim predominates over original claims
3. original claims have been dismissed or
4. other compelling reason

Question 12

Other grounds for personal jurisdiction: service of process

Answer 12

Tag jurisdiction (transient jurisdiction): when defendant is served with process while voluntariyl present in the forum state (also nicht wenn fraudulently or forcefully bruoght into the forum state to be served with prcoess or present in the forum state to attend an unrelated judicial proceeding)

Question 13

Wann minimum contacts?

Answer 13

A. fast immer bei in rem actions, which relate (!) to property in the forum state
(civil forfeiture actions, condemnation, brought directly against property)

B. quasi in rem actions
Type I: determines parties’s interest in property (e.g. quiet title)
Type II: uses person’s property to satisfy unrelated claim (e.g. attachment, garnishment)

C. einzeln festzustellen bei in personam actions, tort etc.

Question 14

Personal Jurisdiction

Answer 14

1. Specific
2. General
3. Consent
   4 Service of process

Question 15

Consent jurisdiction

Answer 15

1. Express: contractual agreement (forum-selection clause)
2. Implied: engagin in specific activity that state has substantial interest in regulating (eg driving on public roads)
3. Waiver: untimely objecdtion to personal jurisdiction
4. Appearance: voluntarily appearing in court to litigate merits of case

Question 16

Serving process

Answer 16

Grds. notice of a lawsuit by properly serving the defendant with a summons and complaint:
1. 90 days after original complaint is filed

A. Individual
1. following rules in the state where the court is located or state where sevice is made OR
2. delivering process to the defendant personally or agent authorized by appointment or law OR
3. leaving process at the defendant’s dwelling (Haus) with a resident of suitable age and discretion

B. Organization
1. following the rules fo the state where the cout is located (ie the forum state) or where service is made OR
2. delivering process to an officer, managing or general agent, or agent authorized by appointment or law to receive service AND if required by statute, mailing process to the defendant

Sonderfälle:

a) incompetent or minor: plaintiff must follow rules of state where service is made

b) federal government/agency: plaintiff must deliver summons & complaint to all of the following: 1. US attorney for district or designated employee or civil-process clerk at us US attorney via registered/certified mail, 2. US attorney general via registered or certified mail AND 3. agency or officer whose conduct is challenged via registered and certified mail

c) foreign government: plaintiff must deliver summons & complaint: a) by speical arrangement between plaintiff & foreign state, if no a), then b) by international convention, if no b) then yby sending to head of ministry of foreign affairs via mail requiring signed recept, if no b) or no notice by mail within 30 days then c) by sending two copies to US Secretary of State via mail requiring signed receipt

d) individual/org in foreign country:
1. following international agreement reasonably calculated to give notice, if no:
2. following foreign country’s rules as foreign coutnry directs in response to letter rogatory or unless prohibited foreign country, by personal delivery or mail wth request for signed return receipt
3. following court order

Question 17

P: Frist versäumt? z.B. 90 Tage Frist serving process

Answer 17

Grds.
a) court must dismiss action withouth prejudice or
b) order service of process within a specified time

Ausn.: plaintiff provides good cause, dann extend the time

Question 18

Masterschema jurisdiction

Answer 18

Allgemein: in order to hear cases court must have jurisdiction over both the parties AND the subject!

1. Personal jurisdiction over the parties
   a) Grds. court has always personal jurisdiction over parties who live in the state where the court is located
   b) long arm statute that allows courts to gain personal jurisdiction over non-residents if that non-resident has had at least minimum contacts with the state
   c) Consent/serving process
2. Subject matter jurisdiction over the subject IN ADDITION
   a) Grds state courts have general jurisdiction, können alles hören
   b) Federal courts have limited jurisdiction: 1. federal question jurisdiction or 2. diversity jurisdiction
3. Venue: In which district can claim be heard?
   a) residnecy-based venue: where any defendant resides so long as all defendants reside in the same state!
   b) events-based venue: substantial portion of the events that gave rise to the suit occurred
   c) property-based venue: substantial part of the property at issue is located
   d) fallback provision: where any defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction but only if neither of the above applies
   e) special venue rules: when suit is removed from state to federal, venue is proper in the federal district encompassing the state court from which the suit was removed, even if venue cannot be established under general venue statute

Question 19

Burford abstention doctrine

Answer 19

Grds. federal court must hear the merits of a case over which it has subjecdt-matter jurisdiction, auch parallel wenn noch in state court geklagt wird

Aber: federal court may or must abstain from hearing when
1. declaratory of injunctive relief is sough
2. federal court would interfere with complex state regulatory scheme that
3. involves important state policy (natural, utilities, public transport etc) AND
4. timely & adequate judicial review by state courts are available

Question 20

Waival of defenses?

Answer 20

Most defenses can be waived if they are not asserted in a defendant’s answer
But defense based on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is NEVER waived, can be asserted by a party or raised by the court at any time

Question 21

State and federal courts teilen sich jurisdiction

Answer 21

Mostly concurrent/shared jurisdiction

only substantive areas over which state courts have exclusive jurisdiction are probate matteres (eg authenticating a will) and domestic relations (eg issuing a divorce)

Question 22

Amoutn in controversy bei equitable relief? (delcaratory/injunction)

Answer 22

Grds. hat equitable relief keinen monetary value, implicit monetary value is calculated by the LARGER of a) cost to the defendant if forced to comply (lost sales) or b) worth to plaintiff if relief granted (idR expected profits)

Question 23

Doctrine of forum non convenienes

Answer 23

allows federal courts to dismiss or stay a lawsuit if a state or foreign judicial system is better suited to hear the case, even when subject-matter/personal/venue are proper, rarely, insb. accessibility of evidence and witnesses

Question 24

Service of process requirements of due process

Answer 24

ZUSÄTZLICH zu “following the rules of the state where the court sits or service is made”: notice must reasonably apprise the defendant of the pending suit and afford the defendant an opportunity to present objections. If plaintiff knows that defendant did not recieve notice (eg because letter was returned “unclaimed”), then plaintiff must take additional reasonable steps to provide notice

Question 25

Amount in controversy bei class actions, wenn jede einzelne unter 75.000 wäre

Answer 25

Class Action Fairness Act, individual claims dürfen summiert werden wenn: 1. class at least 100 members 2. any class member is diverse from at least one defendant (minimal diversity) AND 3. amount in controversy exceeds 5 million when aggregated

Question 26

Ausnahme zur COMPLETE diversity Voraussetzung

Answer 26

Multiparty, Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act (insb Flugzeugabstürze) 1. accident in whcih at least 75 people died at a discrete location 2. minimal diversity, at least one plaintiff and one defendant are citizens of different states AND 3. a) defendant resides in a different state from where substantial part of the accident occurred, b) any two defendants reside in different states, even if the defendants also reside in the same state OR c) substantial parts of the accident occurred in didfferent states

Question 27

100 mile bulge rule

Answer 27

for federal courts to acquire personal over a party when 1. added to the suit through impleader or required joinder (quasi wenn eine Dritte Partei der Klage hinzugefügt wird) AND 2. served with process within 100 miles of the federal court, even if party is served in another state

Question 28

Younger abstention doctrine

Answer 28

Grds. federal court must hear the merits of a case over which it has subjecdt-matter jurisdiction, auch parallel wenn noch in state court geklagt wird Aber: federal court may or must abstain from hearing when 1. declaratory of injunctive relief is sough 2. federal court would interfere with pending state proceeding on any criminal matter or a particular civil matter that 3. involves important state interest AND 4. provides an adequate opportunity to litigate the federal issue ergo: federal soll sich dann quasi nicht als "Superrevisionsinstanz" einmischen, dafür gibt es die state appellate's courts, die das übernehmen sollen Rückausn. when state initiates criminal prosecution in bad faith because there was no reasonable expectation of conviction