Pre-Trial Practice Outline

PRE-TRIAL PRACTICE OUTLINE
Professor Beane and Professor Karitinos
Spring 2012
 
 
Subject Matter Jurisdiction & Pre-filing Concerns
28 USC 1927 Counsel's liability for excessive costs
Any attorney who so multiplies proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously may be required by the court to satisfy personally the excess costs, expenses, and attorneys' fees reasonably incurred because of such conduct
 
28 USC 1331 Federal Question
District courts have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under constitution, laws, or treaties of the US
·         Federal and state officers acting against someone’s protected rights…federal statutes
·         Complaint invokes subject matter jurisdiction
·         Always think of federal question first, then diversity, then supplemental
 
28 USC 1332 Diversity of citizenship; amount in controversy; costs
(a)     District court (trial courts) has original jurisdiction of all civil actions with AIC without interest and cost exceeds sum or value of 75K, exclusive of interest & costs, and is between:
(1)     Citizens of different states
(2)     Citizens of a state and citizens of another state
(3)     Citizens of different states & in which citizens of another state are additional parties; and
(4)     A foreign state, defined in §1603(a), as P & citizens of a state or of different states
An alien admitted to the US for permanent residence is deemed a citizen of the state where he’s domiciled
(b)     When P files in federal court, saying AIC exceeds 75K, but he isn’t actually awarded more than 75K, costs may be denied to P and additional costs may be imposed on him
(c)     For this & 1441:
(1)     Corp is a citizen of any state where it’s incorporated & of state where it’s principal place of business is; except in direct action against insurer of liability insurance, when insured isn’t joined as party D, that insurer is deemed a citizen of state of which the insured is a citizen and of any state by which insurer has been incorporated and of state where it has its principal place of business; and
(2)     Legal representative of estate of decedent is a citizen only of the same state as the decedent, and the legal rep of infant or crazy person is deemed to be a citizen only of the same state as that infant or crazy
·         If either state of citizenship or principal place of business of corp destroys diversity, can’t bring in federal court
·         When US government is a party, you must have federal question – you can bring it with diversity
 
28 USC 1367 Supplemental Jurisdiction
(a)     Same case or controversy – claims that are factually related
(b)     No supplemental jurisdiction under 14, 19, 20, or 24; or over claims by people proposed to be joined as Ps under 19 or seeking to intervene as Ps under 24
(c)     Federal courts may decline to have jurisdiction of claim if:
(1)     Claim raises novel or complex issue of state law
(2)     Claim substantially predominates over the claim or claims over which the district court has original jurisdiction
(3)     District court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction, or
(4)     In exceptional circumstances, there are other compelling reasons for declining jurisdiction
(d)     30 days after it’s dismissed
·         Allows federal court that already has jurisdiction over a case to have jurisdiction over a case that’s factually related
 
Civil Cover Sheet + Summons + Complaint
FRCP 3-11 & 38 + MD Fla R 1.01-1.07
 
RULE 1.01 SCOPE AND CONSTRUCTION OF RULES
(a) These rules, made pursuant to the authority of 28 U.S.C. Section 2071, Rule 83, Fed.R.Civ.P., and Rule 57, Fed.R.Cr.P., shall apply to all proceedings in this Court, whether civil or criminal, unless specifically provided to the contrary or necessarily restricted by inference from the context. The Court may prescribe by administrative order procedures for electronic filing and related matters in civil and criminal cases. The administrative order shall govern, notwithstanding these rules, which otherwise will govern to the extent not inconsistent with the administrative order.
(b) These rules are intended to supplement and complement the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and other controlling statutes and rules of Court. They shall be applied, construed and enforced to avoid inconsistency with other governing statutes and rules of court, and shall be employed to provide fairness and simplicity in procedure, o avoid technical and unjustified delay, and to secure just, expeditious and inexpensive determination of all proceedings.
(c) The Court may suspend application and enforcement of these rules, in whole or in part, in the interests of justice in individual cases by written order. When a judge of this Court in a specific case issues any order which is not consistent with these rules, such order shall constitute a suspension of the rules with respect to the case only, and only to the extent that such order is inconsistent with the rules.
(d) In all circumstances in which these rules, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, other rules as prescribed by the Supreme Court of the United States, or any statute of the United States, or the Federal Common Law, do not apply, the practices, pleadings, forms and modes of proceedings then existing in like causes in the Courts of the State of Florida shall be followed.
 
RULE 1.02 DIVISIONS OF THE COURT
(a) The Middle District of Florida consists of those counties and places of holding court as designated in 28 U.S.C. Section 89.
(b) The District shall be divided into five Divisions to be known as the Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Myers Divisions, as follows:
(1) The Jacksonville Division shall consist of the following counties: Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Hamilton, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee and Union. The place of holding court shall be Jacksonville.
(2) The Ocala Division shall consist of the following counties: Citrus, Lake, Marion and Sumter. The place of holding court shall be Ocala.
(3) The Orlando Division shall consist of the following counties: Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia. The place of holding court shall be Orlando.
(4) The Tampa Division shall consist of the following counties: Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota. The place of holding court shall be Tampa.
(5) The Fort Myers Division shall consist of the following counties: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry and Lee. The place of holding court shall be Fort Myers.
(c) All civil proceedings of any kind shall be instituted in that Division encompassing the county or counties having the greatest nexus with the cause, giving due regard to the place where the claim arose and the residence or principal place of business of the parties.
(d) All criminal proceedings of any kind shall be docketed and tried in that Division encompassing the county or counties in which the alleged offense or offenses were committed; provided, however, an indictment returned in any Division shall be valid regardless of the county or counties within the District in which the alleged offense or offenses were committed.
(e) The Court may, within its discretion, or upon good cause shown by any interested party, order that any case, civil or criminal, be transferred from one Division to any other Division for trial, or from one place of holding court to another place of holding court in the same Division.
 
RULE 1.03 DOCKETING AND ASSIGNMENT OF CASES
(a) Upon the filing of the initial paper or pleading in any case the Clerk shall docket the proceeding as a civil, criminal or miscellaneous action. Each case or proceeding shall be given a six-part docket number, which includes: (1) the one-digit number indicating the division of the Court; (2) the two-digit number indicating the year in which the proceeding is initiated; (3) the code indicating the docket to which the case is assigned; (4) the sequence number of the case or proceeding; (5) a designation consisting of a letter or series of letters disclosing the division in which the proceeding is pending; and (6) the code indicating the judge to whom the case is assigned (the code shall conform to the code assigned by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts) followed by the initials of the magistrate judge to whom the case is assigned.
(b) Each case, upon the filing of the initial paper or pleading, shall be assigned by the Clerk to an individual judge of the Court who shall thereafter be the presiding judge with respect to that cause. Individual assignment of cases within each Division shall be made at random or by lot in such proportions as the judges of the Court from time to time direct. Neither the Clerk nor any member of his staff shall have any power or discretion in determining the judge to whom any case is assigned. The method of assignment shall be designed to prevent anyone from choosing the judge to whom a case is to be assigned, and all persons shall conscientiously refrain from attempting to circumvent this rule.
(c) No application for any order of court shall be made until the case or controversy in which the matter arises has been docketed and assigned by the Clerk as prescribed by subsection (b) of this rule, and then only to the judge to whom the case has been assigned; provided, however:
(1) When no case has previously been initiated, docketed and assigned, emergency applications arising during days or hours that the Clerk's Office is closed may be submitted to any available judge resident in the appropriate Division, or, if no judge is available in the Division, to any other judge in the District, but the case shall then be docketed and assigned by the Clerk on the next business day and shall thereafter be conducted by the judge to whom it is assigned in accordance with subsection (b) of this rule.
(2) When the judge to whom a case has been assigned is temporarily unavailable due to illness, absence or prolonged engagement in other judicial business, emergency applications arising in the case may be made to the other resident judge in the Division or, if more than one, to the judge who is junior in commission in that Division. If no other judge is available in the Division such applications may be made to any other available judge in the District.
(d) The judge to whom any case is assigned may, at any time, reassign the case to any other consenting judge for any limited purpose or for all further purposes.
(e) The Clerk shall accept for filing all prisoner c