CH. 3 and 4 jurisdiction practice questions

Ann filed a lawsuit against Larry in the U.S. District Court in California. She was not represented by an attorney. She claimed that Larry failed to perform on an agreement that she had with him. Ann paid Larry $80,000.00 to remodel her home in Los Angeles. Larry, a resident of San Diego, took the money, but never showed up to paint her home. Ann's case is dismissed by the federal court. Which of the following is an accurate statement as to why Ann's case was dismissed?

Ann's issue is not a federal question, and she and Larry are both from California. Feedback: Ann's case is dismissed by the federal court because the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over her case nor is there a diversity of citizenship. In order for a federal court to hear a case, it must have subject matter jurisdiction, meaning Ann must present a federal question. A federal question involves an issue arising out of the U.S. Constitution or a federal statute. Ann's issue is a contract dispute, not a federal question. Additionally, a federal court can hear a case that involves citizens from different states and where the amount in controversy is over $75,000.00. Here, Ann is asking for more than $75,000.00, but there is no diversity of citizenship because she and Larry are both from the State of California. Further, a federal court could hear a case in which the United States is a party or where states are the parties, neither of which occurs in this situation.

Ellis, a resident of New York, wants to sueTimothy, a resident of Texas, for damage to Ellis's house in New York. To use a long-arm statute to obtain personal jurisdiction over Timothy, the New York court must find that __________.

Timothy committed the tort in New York Feedback: To obtain personal jurisdiction over Timothy under a long-arm statute, the New York court must find that Timothy committed the tort in New York. The typical long-arm statute allows a court to obtain jurisdiction over a defendant even though the process is served beyond its borders if the defendant has committed a tort within the state.

Subject matter jurisdiction is defined as _______:

a court's power over the issues involved in a case Feedback: Subject matter jurisdiction is a court's power over the issues involved in a case.

The federal courts have the power to hear cases in which there is diversity of citizenship, meaning that __________.

all plaintiffs be citizens of different states from all defendants Feedback: Diversity of citizenship requires that all plaintiffs be citizens of different states from all defendants. If a case involves a party on one side that is a citizen of the same state as a party on the other, there will then be no diversity of citizenship and thus no federal jurisdiction.

A dispute involving a person's right to freedom of religion would not qualify as a federal question case and, therefore, would not be able to be heard in the federal court system.

false Feedback: In order for a case to be heard in the federal court system, the federal court must have subject matter jurisdiction over the case. Federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction over federal question cases, or issues arising out of the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of religion is part of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, and a case involving a dispute over freedom of religion is a federal question case to be heard in federal court.

The typical long-arm statute allows a court to obtain jurisdiction over a defendant even though the process is served beyond its borders if the defendant __________.

owns property within the state that is the subject matter of the lawsuit Feedback: The typical long-arm statute allows a court to obtain jurisdiction over a defendant even though the process is served beyond its borders if the defendant owns property within the state that is the subject matter of the lawsuit. The process of requesting and transporting the prisoner from one state to another is called extradition.

In determining the jurisdiction of a corporation, what two factors are considered?

the state of incorporation and the state where it has its principal place of business Feedback: The fact that business corporations, which are considered persons before the law, are frequently incorporated in one state and have their principal place of business in another state causes problems in determining when diversity of citizenship exists. For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a corporation is a citizen of the state of incorporation and also a citizen of the state in which it has its principal place of business.