Civil Procedure

Boyle v. United Technologies Corp.

Government contractors, immune from state liability, federal law preempts state law, federal common law, preemption.

Boyle v. United Technologies Corp.

Discrimination complaints,.state a prima facie case, evidentiary standard for trial, not a rule of pleading.

M.K. v. Tenet

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 18 provides for unrestricted joinder of claims against an opposing party, severence.

M.K. v. Tenet

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a) permits joinder of plaintiffs if all claims arose out of the same transaction or occurrence and share common questions of law or fact, permissive joinder.

Too, Inc. v. Kohl's Department Stores, Inc.

Contribution, implead, impleader, indemnity, indemnification, third-party complaint.

In Re Petition of Sheila Roberts Ford

Rule 27, authorize pre-complaint discovery, file a verified complaint.

Cummings v. General Motors Corp.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a), automatically disclose all documents and tangible evidence on which it intends to rely at trial, dislosure, motion to compel discovery, protective order.

Polycast Technology Corp. v. Uniroyal, Inc.

parties may depose non-party witnesses, deposition, testimony, protective order.

Wilson v. Olathe Bank

Movants, protective order, federal rule of civil procedure 30(b)(2), record a deposition by nonstenographic means and is given the choice of the method of recording, absent annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, and undue burden or expense.

In Re Auction Houses Antitrust Litigation

A contract may form the basis of a discovery obligation under the federal rules of civil procedure, interrogatory.

Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC

Expense and burden of certain discovery requests may be shifted to the requesting party, discoverable matter includes both paper and electronic documents.

Battle v. Memorial Hospital at Gulfport

Deposition testimony of an unavailable witness may be introduced at trial, continuance, unavailability.

Velez v. Awning Windows, Inc.

Rule 56(f), timely respond to a motion for summary judgment, sanctions.

Nick v. Morgan's Foods, Inc.

Sanctioned, attorney transgressions, preserve the integrity of the judicial process, sanctions.

International Ore & Fertilizer Corp. v. SGS Control Services, Inc.

appellate courts, cross appeal requirement, appellate record.

Semtek International, Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp.

Time-barred, longer statutory period, claim-preclusive effect of a judgment on the merits in a federal diversity action, claim preclusion, res judicata, statute of limitations.

In Re African-American Slave Descendants Litigation

courts may order mandatory nonbinding mediation, alternative dispute resolution.

Attorney Conflict of Interest

Larson v. American Family Mutual Ins. Co.; an attorney's failure to sue an insurance company because he wanted to work there landed him in the same lawsuit.

General Jurisdiction

Perkins v. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co.; exercise general jursidiction gives court authority to hear all claims at place of defendant's domicile or place of service, without showing connection between specific claims and forum state.

Purchases Alone Do Not Confer Jurisdiction

Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall; buying products from a different state does not expose buyer to court jurisdiction unless sales resulted in other connections.

In re Ameriquest Mortgage Co. Mortgage Lending Practices Litigation;

Supplemental jurisdiction; 28 U.S.C. 1367; if federal court has jurisdiction over a federal claim, it has supplemental jurisdiction over state claims so related to original jurisdiction that they form part of the same case or controversy.

Supplemental Jurisdiction

Szendry-Ramos v. First Bancorp; no supplemental jurisdiction (formerly ancillary jurisdiction or pendent jurisdiction) if plaintiff's state law claims substantially predominate over the federal claims or raise complex or novel issues of state law.

Short And Plain Statement of the Claim

Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly; sufficient factual allegations required for Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) short and plain statement of the claim showing that pleader is entitled to relief, give the defendant fair notice of claim and grounds upon which it rests.

Prisoners Must Exhaust Remedies

Jones v. Bock; prisoners must exhaust their remedies through the prison system before bringing a lawsuit.

Spoliation of Evidence of Airbag Defect

Silvestri v. General Motors Corp.; sanctionable spoliation is destruction or material alteration of evidence or failure to preserve property for another's use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation; manufacturer opportunity to inspect.

Unconscionability Doctrine for Employment Agreement

Ferguson v. Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc.; procedural and substantive elements of unconscionability required to render a contract unenforceable; arbitration clause; FAA Federal Arbitration Act.

Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable

Carter v. Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc.; FLSA disputes may be arbitrated under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) absent grounds that exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.

Harmless Error Admitting Hearsay Evidence

Harnden v. Jayco, Inc.; summary judgment testimony usually form of an affidavit or sworn statement even if a court's consideration of inadmissible evidence is in error, such error is harmless it if does not affect any party's substantial rights.

Collateral Estoppel

Kovach v. District of Columbia; doctrine of res judicata, or claim preclusion; final judgment on the merits precludes relitigation between the same parties concerning the same factual transaction.

Federal Question Jurisdiction

Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing; federal forum for federal tax litigation sufficiently substantial for exercise of federal question jurisdiction; federal title law; division of labor between state and federal courts.

Failure To Warn Lawsuit

United Oil Co. v. Parts Associates, Inc.; may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, relevant to claim or defense; other lawsuits regarding similar products relevant to a defendant's failure to warn; indemnify; indemnity agreement.

Spoilation and Discovery Obligations

Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC; corporate counsel has duty to communicate discovery obligations so all relevant information is discovered, retained, and produced; once duty to preserve attaches, identify all sources of discoverable information.

Amount In Controversy Requirement

Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Services; class action, if named plaintiff meets requirement, supplemental jurisdiction over claims in same case or controversy even if claims for less than jurisdictional amount for diversity jurisdiction; Article III.

Jurisdiction From Non-Interactive Passive Websites

Pebble Beach Co. v. Caddy; Due process is satisfied when the defendant has performed some act or consummated some transaction within the forum or has otherwise purposefully availed himself of the privileges of conducting business in the forum.

Federal Question Jurisdiction

Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing; The national interest in providing a federal forum for federal tax litigation is sufficiently substantial to support the exercise of federal question jurisdiction.

Short and Plain Statement of Even A Fraud Claim

Denny v. Carey; Rule 9(b)'s requirement of pleading fraud with particularity must be harmonized with Fed. R. Civ. P. 8's requirement of short and plain statement of the plaintiff's claim that is simple, concise, and direct; on information and belief.

Voluntary Participation Before Magistrate Constitutes Consent

Roell v. Withrow; When a party has signaled consent to the magistrate judge's authority to hear a case through actions rather than words, there is little value in strict insistence on an express consent requirement.

Courts May Use Non-Court Personnel

In re Peterson; The Seventh Amendment does not prohibit the introduction of new methods for determining what facts are in issue, nor new rules of evidence.

McDonnell Douglas Test

Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc; A discrimination plaintiff's case may be sufficient to submit to the jury if consists of a prima facie case of discrimination and sufficient evidence that defendant's proffered explanation was merely a pretext.

Jurors Can Sometimes Question Witnesses

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Koenig; Just as questions from the bench can provide insight that helps lawyers make a stronger case, so too can questions from the jury help lawyers tailor their presentations; motion in limine.

Jurors Can Reconcile Inconsistent Verdicts

Duk v. MGM Grand Hotel, Inc; Where the jury is still available, a district court's decision to resubmit an inconsistent verdict for clarification is within its discretion; comparative negligence; contributory negligence.

Rule 60(d) Cause Of Action

Marcelli v. Walker; The elements of a Rule 60(d) cause of action include (1) a judgment that, in equity and good conscience, ought not be enforced; (2) a good defense to the cause of action on which the judgment is founded; (3) fraud, accident.

Final Judgment Rule Usually Applies

Will v. Hallock; Collateral order requirements (1) conclusively determine the disputed question, (2) resolve an important issue completely separate from the merits of the action, and (3) be effectively unreviewable on appeal; collateral order doctrine.

Rule Against Nonparty Preclusion Exceptions

Taylor v. Sturgell; The rule against nonparty preclusion is subject only to certain recognized exceptions: (1) a nonparty may agree to be bound by a judgment, (2) certain substantive relationships..; virtual representation; virtual representation doctrine.

Contracts May Designate Agent For Receiving Service

National Equipment Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent; a contractually designated agent's prompt acceptance and transmittal to named defendants of a summons and complaint, pursuant to authorization contained in the contract, constitutes adequate service.

Adding Related Companies To A Complaint

Goodman v. Praxair, Inc; Under Federal Rule of Procedure 15(c), an amendment that changes the party against whom a claim is asserted relates back to the date of the original pleading under certain limited conditions such as related companies.

Nicotine Addicts Not Entitled To Class Treatment

Castano v. American Tobacco; A district court must conduct a rigorous analysis of the Rule 23 prerequisites before certifying a class; sui generis.

Federal Courts May Hear State Law Claims Joined to Federal

United Mine Workers v. Gibbs; The exercise of pendent jurisdiction is within the sound discretion of the trial court; primary boycott; secondary boycott; supplemental jurisdiction.

Ancillary Jurisdiction Requires Complete Diversity

Owen Equipment and Erection Company v. Kroger; plaintiff in diversity case cannot rely on ancillary jurisdiction to permit amendment to complaint to bring claim against non-diverse third-party defendant; complete diversity; diversity jurisdiction.

Court May Not Change Statutory Time Limits

Bowles v. Russell; Time limits for filing a notice of appeal are jurisdictional in nature, and the untimely filing of notice, even if filed in reliance on a district court order, deprives the court of appeals of jurisdiction; equitable; habeas corpus.

Interlocutory Appeals Involving Injunctive Relief Are Appealable

Carson v. American Brands, Inc; An appeal as of right may be taken from interlocutory orders of federal district courts granting, continuing, modifying, refusing, or dissolving injunction; consent decree; interlocutory.

Partial Judgments Are Not Final For Purposes Of Appeal

Nystrom v. TREX, Inc; Interlocutory appeals are within court's discretion, and will be granted only when court certifies that each ruling presented for appeal involves a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial difference of opinion.

Suppressing Speech Not The Least Restrictive Alternative

Ashcroft v. ACLU; statute that suppresses a substantial amount of protected speech is unconstitutional if less restrictive alternatives exist to further the governmental objective; content-based restriction; preliminary injunction.

Attorney Filing Frivolous Case Is Subject To Monetary Sanctions

Chaplin v. Du Pont Advance Fiber Sys; Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, a complaint must not be presented for an improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or cost of litigation; contain claims warranted by existing law.

Compulsory Counterclaim

Podhorn v. Paragon Group, Inc; A defendant's claims against a plaintiff must be asserted as a counterclaim if arise out of the transaction or occurrence and do not require the presence of third parties over whom the court lacks jurisdiction.

Discovery Request Challenge

Moss v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc; The burden of proving that a challenged discovery request is relevant is on the party who makes the request, while proving that the request is unduly burdensome rests with the party making the objection.

Duty To Maintain All Material Evidence

Teague v. Target Corp; Spoliation is the destruction or material alteration of evidence or the failure to preserve property for another\'s use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation; mitigation-of-damages doctrine.

Cost-Shifting For Discovery

Quinby v. WestLB AG; A court may shift the cost of restoring and searching for relevant information in an electronic form when the party who converts the data into an inaccessible format should have reasonably anticipated a need to produce that data.

The Hague Convention or FRCP

Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. United States District Court; Hague Convention is not exclusive means for obtaining evidence located abroad; comity; mandamus.

Summary Judgment Standard

Scott v. Harris; When opposing parties tell two different stories, and one is blatantly contradicted by the record so that no reasonable jury could believe it, a court should not adopt that version for purposes of ruling on a motion for summary judgment.

Domicile Is Determined By Entire Course of Conduct

Ochoa v. PV Holding Corp; When determining a party's domicile, the controlling factors are the party's actual place of residence and the real intention of remaining there as disclosed by the party's entire course of conduct.

Minimal Diversity Is Required For Federal Jurisdiction

Passa v. Derderian; The Multiparty, Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act (MMTJA) requires federal courts to abstain when substantial majorities of all plaintiffs and of the principal defendants are residents of a single state.

State Class Action Lawsuits

Preston v. Tenet Healthsystem Memorial Medical Center, Inc; The Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) creates a narrow exception to federal jurisdiction and allows the discretionary remand of purely local actions.

Rule 23 Class Certification Requirement For Settlement

Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor; Settlement is relevant to the certification of a class; however, the class unity requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 remain the dominant concern.

State a Claim

Ashcroft v. Iqbal; pleading; facts to support claim; insufficient pleading.

Preclusion

Brent Taylor, Petitioner v. Robert A. Sturgell, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, et al.; rule against nonparty preclusion; nonparties are rarely bound by earlier judgments in similar cases.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Brown v. Plata; expand interpretation; judicial system takes an active role in the state prison system.

Duty to Warn

C.A. Hardy, et al. v. Johns-Manville Sales Corporation, et al.; not all asbestos manufacturers are liable in every asbestos related personal injury suit.

Seizure of Property

Connecticut v. Doehr; pre-hearing seizure; only exigent circumstances justify a pre-hearing seizure.

Jurisdiction Case

Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A., v. Brown et ux.; sporadic, unrelated contacts are not enough for general jurisdiction.

Electronic Discovery

Helmert v. Butterball, LLC; e-discovery; unduly burdensome electronic discovery request.

Jurisdiction

J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro; purposeful contact with state is required to trigger jurisdiction.

Relation Back

Krupski v. Costa Crociere S.P.A; amend pleading; relation back hinges on the knowledge of the party to be added, not the party seeking amendment.

Joinder

Lopez v. City of Irvington; joinder of claims; sever claims; a single transaction may encompass multiple occurrences.

Class Action Jurisdiction

Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts; minimum contacts are not required for absent class action plaintiffs.

Federal Rules

Shady Grove Orthopedic Assoc. v. Allstate Ins. Co.; diversity case; federal procedure that does not alter the rules for deciding a claim will control.

Appointed Counsel

Turner v. Rogers; appointed attorney; civil contempt case may not require appointed counsel even if incarceration may be ordered.

Injunction

U.S. v. New York Times; prior restraints on the publication of government information are unlikely when there is no threat to security.

Gender Discrimination Class Action

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes; Walmart sex discrimination; class actions require a common claim that can be resolved with one determination.

Probable Cause

Brendlin v. California; fruit of the poisonous tree; officers did not have probable cause to stop vehicle, passenger was seized and evidence discovered as result was inadmissible.

General Jurisdiction Out of State

Goodyear Dunlop Tire Operations, S.A. v. Brown; General jurisdiction involves continuous corporate operations within a state; sporadic sales are not sufficient contacts with a forum state.

Nerve Center Test

Hertz Corporation v. Friend; Diversity Jurisdiction; a corporation's nerve center is its principal place of business for purposes of diversity jurisdiction.

Fair Housing Act

Swanson v. Citibank; racial discrimination in house appraisal; state a claim that is plausible to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

Audiotape Evidence

Coble v. City of White House; Police audiotapes are not as conclusive as videotapes; corroborating evidence.

Federal Rules Control

Shady Grove Orthopedic Association v. Allstate Insurance Co.; Rule 23 Class Action; Federal procedure that does not alter the rules for deciding a claim will control in diversity cases.

Rebuttal Evidence

Bias v. Advantage Intern., Inc.; withstand motion for summary judgment; rebuttal evidence must cast doubt on credibility of testimony by using specific facts.

Contention Interrogatories

Cable & Computer Technology, Inc. v. Lockheed Saunders, Inc.; Rule 33 states that an interrogatory is not objectionable because it asks for an opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact.

Internet Contact Jurisdiction

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. v. Community Trust Financial Corp.; online services; continuous interaction with forum state supports jurisdiction.

Defective Consent to Removal

Davis v. City of Shreveport Police Dept.; All properly joined and served defendants must join in the notice of removal or otherwise consent to the removal or the removal is defective.

Amount in Controversy Calculation

Freeland v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co.; to support diversity jurisdiction, amount in controversy is the value of the consequences that may result from the litigation.

Malpractice is a State Law Claim

Gunn v. Minton; legal malpractice cases do not arise under federal law even when the underlying case involved a controversy over the application of federal law.

Diversity Jurisdiction Not for Aliens

H.K. Hullin International Trade Co., Ltd. v. Kevin Multiline Polymer, Inc.; No diversity exists in suits between resident and nonresident aliens.

A Deposition is a Deposition

Tatman v. Collins; Discovery depositions may be introduced at trial; Federal Rules of Civil Procedure make no disctiction between discovery depositions and trial depositions.

Arbitration Agreements are Enforceable

AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion; Federal Arbitration Act will preempt state laws on the unconscionability of contracts if those laws single out arbitration and make private agreements to arbitrate unenforceable.

Interpleader

Paragon Molding Ltd. v. Safeco Insurance Company; Interpleader exists to resolve inconsistent claims against designated assets based on mutually exclusive theories; resolve claims to the same funds and assets.

Preliminary Injunction Against Public Interest

Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.; When ruling on a request for a preliminary injunction, a court must consider the consequences to the public interest of granting the request; great deference to the military.

Appearance of Bias Matters

Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.; Appearance of risk of actual judicial bias may require a judge to recuse himself from consideration of a particular case.