Barbri MEE Rule Statements - Most Simplified Version

to determine whether a federal court has JX over a case, it must be determine whether

1. a basis for original SMJ is present, and 2. whether supplemental jurisdiction is available

28 U.S.C. Section 1367(b) possibility prohibits the use of supplemental jurisdiction in diversity cases for claims by plaintiffs

1. against impleaded parties, 2. against compulsorily joined parties 3. against compulsorily joined parties, 4. against permissively joined parties, and 5. against intervening parties

diversity of citizenship SMJ requires

1. an amount in controversy of more than $75,000 2. complete diversity of citizenship

class actions requirements under the federal rules:

1. class must be so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable 2. class must have common question of law or fact 3. named party's interest must be typically of the class and his representative must be able to fairly and adequately represent the absent class members

for diversity purposes, a corporation is a citizen of

1. every state in which it is incorporated, and 2. the one state in which it has its principal place of business

Under the Federal Rules, when multiple claims or multiple parties are involved in the action, the court may enter a final judgment as to fewer than all of the claims or parties on

1. express determination that there is no just reason for delay; and 2. an express direction for the entry of judgment

There are two main types of Federal SMJ:

1. federal question jurisdiction 2. diversity of citizenship jurisdiction

the two main bases for original federal subject matter jurisdiction are

1. federal question jurisdiction, and 2. diversity of citizenship jurisdiction

venue is proper where?

1. in the judicial district where any defendant resides, if all reside in the same state, or 2. where a substantial part of the acts or omissions in the case occurred.

certain categories of speech are not protected by the First Amendment, including speech that

1. incited imminent lawless action; and 2. fighting words

for issue preclusion to apply,

1. issues in both actions must be the same, 2. there must have been a final judgment as to that issue, 3. the party against whom collateral estoppel is asserted must have a fair opportunity to be heard on the matter, and 4. posture of the case must be such that it would not be unfair or inequitable to apply collateral estoppel

for claim preclusion to apply,

1. must have been a valid, final judgment on the merits 2. both parties must be the same (or be in privity with a party in the prior suit); and 3. new action must involve the same cause of action (same T/O)

a party's domicile may be changed by

1. physically present in the state couple with 2. intent to remain there permantely or for an indefinite period

a class action, action must fall into a 23(b) category:

1. risk of inconsistent results or risk that separate trial would impair rights of all plaintiffs; 2. defendant must have acted or refused to act on grounds applicable to the whole class and injunctive or declaratory relief would be appropriate; and 3. common questions of law or fact predominate and class action is superior method of adjudication.

parties may be permissively joined as plaintiffs or be joined as defendant whenever:

1. some claim is made by each plaintiff and against each defendant relating to or arising out of the same series of occurrences; and 2. there is question of law or fact common to all the parties

Under the Erie Doctrine, a federal court sitting in diversity must apply

1. substantive state law, 2. federal procedural law

The First Amendment generally prohibits the government from restricting the content of speech unless:

1. the government can prove that 2. the restriction is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest

a party is limited to what in a RJMOL?

1. the grounds raised in the initial JMOL, OR 2. a party is unable to "renew" an objection that was not raised in the initial motion, as there would be no objection to renew.

actual malice will be found where

1. the statement is made with knowledge that it is false; or 2. with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.

for a corporation, the paradigms for being "at home" are

1. the states of incorporation; and 2. the state where the corporation has its PPB

Under the Interlocutory Appeals Act, review is discretionary and may be available when:

1. the trial judge certifies that the interlocutory order involves a controlling question of law, as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion, and immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation, and 2. the court of appeals then agrees to allow the appeal

what do public interest factors include:

1. what law applies 2. what community should be burdened with jury service, and 3. desire to keep local action local

to transfer venue, the court must determine

1. whether venue has been properly laid, and if so, 2. whether any basis for transfer of venue exists

the party must make the renewed motion for JMOL within how many days?

28 days of the judgment

when must the petition for removal be filed?

30 days of formal receipt of the complaint

long arm statute

A state statute that permits a state to exercise jurisdiction over nonresident defendants.

Generally, it is a tort to publish private information about a person if

a reasonable person would object to having the information made public

only under extraordinary circumstances unrelated to the convenience of the parties should a section 1404(a) motion be denied when there is

a valid forum election clause, that is, only public interest factors will be considered.

The First Amendment does not provide the press with

any special right to trespass, even if the trespass was done in order to investigate a story about a public figure or a matter of public concern.

ordinarily, only a final order is what?

appealable

in exceptional cases, circumvention of the final judgment rule through the

appellate writs of mandamus and prohibition is allowed

when transfer is based on a forum selection clause, the law of the transferee court (i.e., the forum elected in the forum selection clause) is what?

applied rather than the law of the transferor court.

for federal question jurisidiction to be present, the case must

arise under the US Constitution or under federal law or treaties

the exercise of personal jurisdiction must be

authorized by state statute

the writs (mandamus and prohibition)

available only if an appeal will be insufficient to correct a problem and the trial court's actions constitute a serious abuse of power that must be immediately corrected.

to subject a defendant to general jurisdiction in a forum state, the defendant must

be "at home" there

under the federal rules, a judgment as a matter of law must

be made at some point during the trial in order to move for a renewed JMOL

mandamus

commands a trial judge to act

prohibition of mandamus

commands the judge to refrain from acting

the exercise of PJ must be

constitutional (follows the minimum contacts test)

if the moving party submits an affidavit in support of the motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party must do what?

counter that affidavit with his own evidence from affidavits, discovery, etc. on the matter

the addition of a plaintiff by means of supplemental jurisdiction cannot

destroy complete diversity

general discovery rule

discovery may be had of any matter not privileged that is relevant to the claim or defense of any party, including the identity of persons have knowledge of relevant facts. - the costs of discovery & needs of the case should also be considered

PJ may be exercised when a business registers to

do business in the state and state law authorizes PJ on this basis

The SC has ruled that a forum selection clause ordinarily will be

enforced through transfer

a regulation punishing a substantial amount of protected speech judged in relation to its legate sweep is

facially invalid and cannot be enforced against anyone.

first step in removing a case to federal court

file a notice with the federal district court and division in which the action is pending.

an order denying a motion to dismiss is not

final

Unless the trial judge makes the express determination, the order determining the merits of fewer than all of the claims or dismissing fewer than all of the parties is not a

final judgment and is not appealable

federal law determines the enforceability of

forum selection clauses

federal law generally will allow for enforcement of

forum selection clauses

if the ground for removal is that diversity exists, the action cannot be removed

from state court after one year has passed since its filing unless bad faith by the plaintiff can be shown

summary judgment must be granted if,

from the pleadings, affidavits, and discovery materials it appears that there is 1. no genuine dispute of material fact, and 2. the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law

Unless an abstention doctrine applies, nothing prohibits a federal court from what?

hearing a case that is pending in state court

exception to a regulation punishing a substantial amount of protected speech judged in relation to its legate sweep is facially invalid and cannot be enforced against anyone:

if a court has limited construction of the restriction so as to remove the threat to constitutionally protected speech

if there is a federal directive on point (i.e., FRCP or federal statute)

if it is valid, it will be applied

when is specific jurisdiction available?

if the cause of action arises from or relates to the defendant's contact with the forum

collateral order

if the claim or issue is separable from and collateral to the main suit and is too important to require deferring appealable review it may be classified as a judgment in a separate ("collateral") proceeding and thus be appealable

Under 28 U.S.C. section 1441(a), when a case is removed from state court to federal court, venue is set where?

in the federal district court that embraces the state court in which the action was pending

if parties are not the same, it will make the application of claim preclusion what?

inappropriate

a federal court must analyze PJ issues as if

it were a state court in the jurisdiction

at common law, a plaintiff may bring a defamation action against a defendant who

makes a false statement about the plaintiff

what must a court find to grant a motion for JMOL or a renewed motion for JMOL?

must find that a reasonable jury would not have legally sufficient basis to find for the party on the issue - ct. must view evidence in light most favorable to the nonmoving party and without considering credibility of witnesses

all defendants must do what in regards to removal?

must join in the removal

when is work product of lawyers and other prepared in anticipation of litigation discoverable?

only on a showing of: 1. substantial need; and 2. avoid undue hardship in obtaining the material from other sources

copies of a notice of removal must be sent to

opposing parties and to the state court.

when parties have agreed to a valid forum selection clause, a district court should

ordinarily transfer the case to the forum specified in that clause

a regulation of speech will not be upheld if it is

over broad - i.e., prohibits substantially more speech than is necessary

general jurisdiction is

personal jurisdiction over the defendant for all causes of action

specific jurisdiction means

personal jurisdiction over the defendant for the instant cause of action only

fighting words defined

personally abusive communications that, when addressed to an ordinary person, are likely to incited immediate physical retaliation.

on a showing of good cause, a court can order disclosure of any information that is

relevant to the subject matter of the current litigation.

a defendant in a state court case may

remove that case to federal court if it could have been filed originally in federal court

judgments by settlement do not have issue preclusive effect because

settlements typically do not contain admissions and do not involve an actual judgment on the issues

The SC has held that a statute may not constitutionally regulate mere advocacy of lawless action in the abstract, only

speech that incites imminent lawless action can be regulated.

minimum contacts test

sufficient minimum contacts with the state that the exercise of PJ would be fair and reasonable

complete diversity means what?

that no plaintiff may share state citizenship with any defendant

in deterring whether to certify a class action, the court will look to see if

the class action requirements under the federal rules have been satisfied

under the long arm statute the authorized by statute prong merges with

the constitutional prong

claims by compulsorily joined plaintiffs or by plaintiffs seeking to intervene may not be heard under

the court's supplemental jurisdiction

the notice for removal must contain

the grounds for removal

in theory, a new trial could be granted if

the jury's verdict is against the weight of evidence, but the judge may not replaced the jury verdict with the verdict he would have reached, so it must be a serious error in the judgment

ordinarily under the venue statutes, a transfer solely on convince grounds carries to the transferee court, under venue statutes

the originally applicable law (i.e., the law of the transferor court), including any choice of law rules

public interest factors will rarely oust what?

the parties' choice of forum in a forum section clause

what is a corporation's principal place of business?

the place from which the corporation's high-level officers direct and control the corporation's activities

federal question jurisdiction is available when

the plaintiff's well-pleaded complaint sets forth a claim that arises under federal law

the court will retain jurisdiction over the case but defer ruling on the state constitutional issue until

the state court rules on the case

for diversity purposes, an individual is a citizen of

the state in which she is domiciled

supplemental jurisdiction requires that

the supplemental claim arise from the same nucleus of operative fact as the claim that invoked original federal subject matter jurisdiction

Under the First Amendment, public figures cannot recover for defamation unless

they can show that the defaming statement was made with actual malice

Under the venue statues, when venue in the original action is proper, the federal court, in the interests of justice, may

transfer the case for: 1. the convenience of the parties and witnesses to another venue in which the action might have been brought, or 2. to which the parties have consented

restriction on the use of supplemental jurisdiction

when the claim with original jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship jurisdiction

the primary reason a federal court will abstain from hearing a case is what?

when the constitutionality of a state statute is at issue

when may a new trial be granted?

when there was some serious error that occurred during the trial

when must notice of removal be filed by?

within 30 days after the defendant obtain a copy of the complaint

if a matter is one of legitimate public interest, publication is privileged if it is made with

actual malice, especially if the information was obtained legitimately, such as a picture taken in public.

the plaintiff's good faith allegation in the complaint determines what?

amount in controversy

trespass is

an intentional physical invasion of a plaintiff's real property caused by the defendant

a final order is what?

an order that disposes of the whole case (i.e., all claims and all parties on the merits)

a case is not removable on the basis of diversity if

any defendant is a citizen of the forum state.