Legal Authority Hierarchy

(1)Constitution
(2) Statutes
(3) Common Law

Choice of law:

Place of injury: substantive law Venue: Procedural law

Example: Injury in New York (NY substantive law) Court Case in Maryland (Maryland
procedural law)

1. Statutes always trump case law

2. In Federal Ct, apply state substantive law. (except fed law can trump state law if it is
unconstitutional or in conflict with federal law-supremacy clause)
3. Conflicting statutes-look to most RECENT and BINDING
4. Supreme Ct. decision can trump congressional statutes. Constitutional Amendments
trump S. ct.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

-The court’s power to hear a particular type of claim. Measure SMJ @ time of complaint.

Federal Courts: Claims can be brought to a federal court under 1331 federal question or 1332
diversity jurisdiction.

1331 Federal Question

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction over all civil actions arising under the
constitution, laws or treaties of the United States.

ARISING UNDER
• Plaintiff’s well pleaded claim must be based on federal law. Merely Anticipating a
defense based on federal law is not enough.
• Types of law that satisfy federal question: federal law, statutes, regulations, treaties,
federal common law

1332 Diversity Jurisdiction

Federal district courts have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the action is (1)
between citizens of different states and (2) the amount in controversy is greater than $75,000.
• Strawbridge v. Curtiss established complete diversity.

(1) Citizenship: (Residency + intent to stay) = where domiciled

 • Retention Rule: If a new domicile is not established, the person retains their previous
domicile under the retention rule.

• Citizenship of Corporations: Principle place of business + Every place of business

• Principle place of business: Nerve Center Test, primary place of administrative decisions,
corporate headquarters.

*Ward takes on citizenship of child or incompetent adult.

*Citizenship change after file? Doesn’t matter.

(2) Amount in controversy

• To be dismissed for lack of amount in controversy, it must be clear to a legal certainty

that the amount in controversy cannot be greater than $75,000.

• Hard Standard for Δ to meet.

Aggregation

General: Cannot add claim to make amount in controversy to another claim.

• Have to be able to recover on both claims separately

• Must be separate claims (not claims in the alternative)

WHEN AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY IS NOT MET

1367 –Supplemental jurisdiction

(A) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) or as expressly provided otherwise by Federal
statute, in any civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction, the district
courts shall have supplemental jurisdiction over all other claims that are so related to claims in
the action within such original jurisdiction that they form part of the same case or controversy
under Article III of the United States Constitution. Such supplemental jurisdiction shall include
claims that involve the joinder or intervention of additional parties.

Relatedness: (1) overlap in evidence (2) common nucleus of operative fact