Federal Civil Procedure

I. Jurisdiction and venue

A. Subject matter jurisdiction
1.Federal courts Limited SMJ for Fed (must dismiss if no SMJ)
Fed Cts have OG juris for all civil actions under consititution, laws, treaties of US
Fed Cts have OG juris over matters w diverse litigants, where amt > 75k
Supp Juris over non OG claims if same Txn/occurance (discretionary)
D may remove to fed ct if in st ct and could have been brought in fed (30 days)(Venue = state)
2.State courts Gen Juris
B. Jurisdiction over parties
In personam D has phys presence/rel/consents/waives/systematic contact arising in st + long arm
To reach OOS D, FrmSt must have Long Arm . D must have minimum contacts + notice/service
Minimum contacts: Fair play & sub justice - purposeful availment of state laws? foresee juris?
C. Jurisdiction over property
In rem D has property in ForumSt (pers prop of value + in state w fedct + ct must sieze prop + D notice)
Quasi in rem P wants to attach to Prop D owns in FrmSt (same, but (3) prop must be attached)
D. Service of process and notice (Complaint starts; 120 days to summon)
Summons must: signed clerk; ID ct, ptys; directed to D; state atty/ctrpty; notify date time for ans; seal of ct
No summons = dismiss w prej, even if actual notice
E. Venue, forum non-conveniens, and transfer
Venue is where action filed. If needs intl forum: FNC (dismiss); if inconvenient: transfer
II. Law applied by federal courts
A. State law in federal court
Rules decision act: Con, treaty, fed > state law
if diversity/supplem., apply erie (fed proc, state sub)
B. Federal common law
III. Injunctions and provisional remedies
If necessary to prevent injustice or timeliness, prelim inj (notice req); TRO doesnt req. notice
IV. Pretrial procedures
A. Pleadings and motions
Pleading must: short plain stmt of grounds, if true, entitle relief; demand for relief
Answer 21 days (must incl. aff def; SMJ; PJ; venue; state claim; R19 Join)(no dism if SMJ, r19, claim granted)
Compulsory CC=same txn/occurance; Permis CC=same adverse pty; XC=new not opp pty (discr)
R11 Signing = not baseless, improper purpose
B. Abstention doctrines
C. Joinder of parties and claims (including class actions)
Pty may join all CLAIMS ag pty in single action
PTY subj to service MUST be joined: no relief to parties; interest in subj. of lit and interest not protect (split?)
Class action: numerosity; commonality; typicality; adequacy of rep
interplead if multiple claims depend on same oblig, risk of multiple judgements; implead if liable to D;
intervene if interest in action + @ risk + not repd by existing ptys.
D. Discovery (including e-discovery)
May discover: relevant to claim/defense; not burdensome; not priv (doc-pt; work prod; spouse)
E. Adjudication without a trial
Default J (fail to plead/defend claim); Settlement; pretrial motion
F. Pretrial conference and order
expedite disposition; control; discourage waste; facilitate settlement
V. The trial process
A. Jury trials
Rt to Jury in civil (A7)(not if equitable action); demand 14 days after last pleading
B. Nonjury trials
C. Jury instructions
selection: voir dire, preemptory challenge; disqualification, implied/actual bias
D. Motions
12b6: fail to state claim; insufficient facts; allegations negative CoA (w/Prej) (pre trial)
SummJ: no genuine dispute as to any material fact and movant entitled to JMoL (pre trial)
JMoL: see SummJ (post trial)
Renewed JMoL: see SummJ (post verdict)
New trial: reversible error; excessive verdict; jury misconduct; against clear weignt of ev. (D motion)
VI. Verdicts and judgments
A. Jury verdicts
must be unanimous; 6 jurors
B. Judicial findings and conclusions
C. Directed verdicts and nonsuits
D. Post-trial motions
E. Effect; claim and issue preclusion
"Collateral Estoppel" once final judgment, elements may not be relitigated
claim preclusion: b/w same parties; arising same Txn/O; and ct had proper SMJ/PJ
issue preclusion: no relit of issues that were fully and fairly litigated, necessarily decided in proceeding w final J
F. Appealability and review
A. Interlocutory
no interlocutory review unless collateral order (conclusively determine issue; important issue sep from merit; unreviewable on appeal)
B. Final J Disposes of all issues between parties
C. Scope of Review
must be preserved. Facts: Clearly Erroneous; Concl. of law: de novo; other determinations: Abuse of discretion


Frequently Tested Topics
Personal Jurisdiction
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Pleadings
Venue
Supplemental Juris
Appeals
Erie
Discovery
Mnemonics

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