CIVIL PROCEDURE RULE OUTLINE
Rule 4 Summons:
A court has personal jurisdiction over a defendant if the plaintiff has properly served the defendant and if the defendant has sufficient contacts with the forum to satisfy procedural due process protections.
§ Rule 4 defines when service of process establishes personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
§ Rule 4 does not have a blanket prohibition against service by publication; service by publication is permitted when authorized by state statute of the state in which the district court sits.
Rule 4(k)(1)(A): If the plaintiff relies on a federal service of process statute, service establishes jurisdiction.
§ Many federal statutes lack a service of process provision. In those cases, service establishes jurisdiction over the defendant if the defendant “could be subjected to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction in the state in which the district court is located.
Rule (k)(1)(B): “Hundred mile bulge” rule only applies to parties joined under Rule 14 or 19.
Rule 4(e)(1): Permits service upon an individual pursuant to the procedure adopted by the state in which the federal district court sits.
§ A federal court may exercise jurisdiction over a defendant to the extent allowed by state law.
Rule 7 Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions:
Rules of Fed. Civ. Pro. Limit pleadings to a complaint, answer, and reply, and have eliminated successive rounds of pleading that existed at common law, such as the sur-reply.
Rule 8: General Rules of Pleadings
Rule 9 Pleading Special Matters:
Rule 9(b): In order for pleadings of fraud to withstand a motion to dismiss, plaintiffs must allege “the time, place and contents of false representations, as well as the identity of the person making the misrepresentation and what was obtained or given up thereby.”
§ Plaintiffs are also required to allege facts supporting their claim of reliance.
Rule 11 Signing of Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Sanctions:
Rule 11 does not by its terms require an evidentiary hearing before imposition of sanctions under the rule.
§ Explicitly allows for the imposition of sanc
or the purpose of harassing an opponent.”
§ A party also demonstrates bad faith by “delaying or disrupting the litigation or hampering enforcement of a court order.”
Rule 12 Defenses & Objections:
Rule 12(g): requires that parties raising objections or defenses under Rule 12 must consolidate all those defenses in one motion. In other words you cannot sequentially file Rule 12 motions. The only exception to this rule is for any motions provided for in Rule 12(h)(2).
Rule 12(h)(2): Permits parties to raise the defense of failure to state a claim by a motion for a judgment on the pleadings.
Rule 12(h)(3): Subject matter jurisdiction motions may be considered whenever raised, and if jurisdiction is lacking, the court shall dismiss the action.
Almost all federal courts permit “speaking motions” or Rule 12(b) motions supplemented by additional materials.
