Chapter 2

Federal Arbitration Act

(FAA, 1925) enforces arbitration clauses in contracts involving maritime activity and interstate commerce

federal question

a question that pertains to US Constitution, act so fCongress, or treaties

motion to dismiss

a request to the court to dismiss the case for state reasons, such the plaintiff's failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

standing to sue

a requirement that a party must have a legally protected and tangible Internet at stake sufficient to justify seeking relief through the court system. The controversy at issue must also be a justiciable controversy--on that is real and substantial, as opposed to hypothetical or academic.

answer

a response to the complaint in which the defendant admits or denies the allegations made by the plaintiff; may assert a counterclaim or an affirmative defense.

long arm statute

a state statute that permits a state to obtain personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants. A defendant mus have certain "minimum contacts' with that state for the statute to apply

writ of certiorari

a writ from a higher court asking the lower court for the record of a case

motion for a new trial

(a posttrial motion) will be granted if the judge is convinced that the jury was in error; can also be granted on the grounds of newly discovered evidence, misconduct by the participants during the trials, or error by the judge.

motion for judgment on the pleadings

(a pretrial motion) may be made by either party; will be granted if the parties agree on the facts and the only question is how the law applies to the facts. The judge bases the decision solely on the pleadings.

motion for summary judgment

(a pretrial motion) may be made by either party; will be granted if the parties agree on the facts. The judge applies the law in rendering a judgement. The judge can consider evidence outside the pleadings when evaluating the motion.

personal jurisdiction

(in personam jurisdiction) courts can exercise jurisdiction over any person or business that resides in a certain geographic are.

in rem jurisdiction

(jurisdiction over the thing) courts can exercise jurisdiction over property located within its boundaries.

motion for judgment

(n.o.v.- nonwithstanding the verdict, a posttrial motion) will be granted if the judge is convinced that the jury was in error

federal court system

3 tiered model: (1)US district court and various courts of limited jurisdiction, (2) US courts of appeals, (3) US Supreme Court

intermediate appellate courts

courts of appeals, or reviewing courts; generally without original jurisdiction. Many states have an intermediate appellate court; in the federal court system, the US circuit courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts.

state trial courts

courts of general jurisdictions can hear any case.; courts of limited jurisdiction include domestic relations courts, probate courts. traffic courts, and small claims courts.

trial courts

courts of original jurisdiction, in which legal actions are initiated

sliding-scale standard

gradually courts are developing a stadara for determining when the exercise of jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant is proper. Courts have identified 3 types of Internet business contacts: (1) substantial business conducted over the Internet, (2) some interactivity through the website, (3) passive advertising (JURISDICTION IS ONLY PROPER IN THE FIRST AND MAYBE SECOND)

question of law

in a lawsuit, an issue involving the application or interpretation of a law. Only a judge, not a jury, can rule on this.

question of fact

in a lawsuit, an issue that involves only disputed facts, and not what the law is on a given point. These ______ are decided by the jury in a jury trial.

judicial review

process by which a court decides on the constitutionality of legislative enactments and actions o the executive branch

rule of four

rule of the US Supreme Court under which the Court won't issue a writ of certiorari unless at least 4 justices approve of the writ

pleadings

statements made by the plaintiff and the defendant in a lawsuit that detail the facts, charges, and defenses involved in the litigation. The complaint and answer are part of the ____.

federal trial courts

the federal district court is the equivalent of the state trial court. Federal courts of limited jurisdiction include the US tax Court, the US Bankruptcy Court, and the US Court of Federal Claims.

docket

the list of cases entered on a court's calendar and thus scheduled to be heard by the court

negotiation

the parties come together, with or without attorneys to represent them, and try to reach a settlement without the involvement of a third party

mediation

the parties themselves reach an agreement with the help of a neutral 3rd party, called a mediator, who proposes solutions. At the parties' request , a mediator may make a legally binding decision.

discovery

the process of gathering evidence concerning the case

alternative dispute resolution

the resolution of disputes in ways other than those involved in the traditional judicial process.

federal jurisdiction

Arises (1) when a federal question is involved (when the plaintiff's cause of action is based, at east in part, on the US Constitution, a treaty, or a federal law) or (2) when a case involves diversity of citizenship (citizens of different states, for example) and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.

concurrent versus exclusive jurisdiction

Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two different courts have authority to hear the same case. Exclusive jurisdiction exists when only state courts or only federal courts have authority to hear a case.

supreme (highest) courts

Each state has a supreme court, although it may be called by some other name; appeal from the state supreme court to the US Supreme Court is possible only if the case involve a federal question. The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal court system.

limited versus general jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction exists when a courts is limited to a specific subject matter, such as probate or divorce. General jurisdiction exists when a court can hear any kind of case.

original versus appellate jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction exists when courts have authority to hear a case for the first time (trial courts). Appellate jurisdiction exists with courts of appeals, or reviewing courts; generally, appellate courts do not have original jurisdiction.

...

The decisions of a state's highest court are final on questions of state law.

arbitration clause

a clause in a contract that provides that, in the even o a dispute, the parties will submit the dispute to arbitration rather than litigate the dispute in court

justiciable controversy

a controversy that's not hypothetical or academic but real and substantial; a requirement that must be satisfied before a court will hear a case.

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a court of general jurisdiction can handle a broad array of cases unlike a court of limited jurisdiction

arbitration

a more formal method of ADR in which the parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party, the arbitrator, who renders a decision. The decision may or may not be legally binding, depending on the circumstances.

online dispute resolution

a number of organizations now offer dispute-resolution services through online forums.

pretrial conference

either party or the court can request a pretrial conference to identify the matters in dispute after discover has taken place and to plan the course of the trial

complaint

filed by the plaintiff with the court to initiate the lawsuit; served with a summons on the defendant.