Civil Procedure I Outline

Civil Procedure Outline
 
A.    Approaching Civil Procedure
a.      Bottom Up Approach – Begins with the life cycle of the individual lawsuit, how the parties initially state there grievances, develop information about them, and bring them to resolution.
                          i.      Emphasizes features and problems on the contemporary procedural system
                        ii.      Shows how these features shape and strain the litigant’s responsibilities and choices.
b.      Top Down Approach – Starts with the constitutional environment in which the individual lawsuit exists
                          i.      Takes you through the current interpretation of the constitution
                        ii.      Reveals several limits on the ways that the state and federal courts conduct their business.
 
B.     Overview of Jurisdiction
a.      Jurisdiction – You have jurisdiction when person, subject matter, and venue all overlap.
b.      Personal Jurisdiction – The power of a given court to issue a judgment that is binding on a person or affects his property. If a court does not have personal jurisdiction then its ruling is not binding on that person.
c.       Subject Matter Jurisdiction – The power of the courts over a specific issue. Personal jurisdiction is both separate and distinct from subject matter jurisdiction. A court must have both in order to hear a case. 
d.      Venue
e.       Exclusive Jurisdiction – Cases where either the state courts or federal courts only have jurisdiction
f.       Concurrent Jurisdiction – Cases where the state and federal courts each may have jurisdiction
g.      Constitutional Requirements – Personal jurisdiction is required in both state and federal courts
                          i.      If the Court has no personal jurisdiction then it violates due process
1.      Concept that didn’t exist until Pennoyer
 
h.      Types of Personal Jurisdiction
                          i.      In Personam – Power over the person. UNDER PENNOYER, MUST BE ACQUIRED BY PERSONAL SERVICE OF SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT IN THE STATE.
1.      Almost always personal jurisdiction
                        ii.      In Rem – Power over a party’s property. Settles question of ownership and control of the property as against the whole world.
1.      A dispute over ownership of property. Asserts jurisdiction over the property itself in order to determine ownership of the property.
2.      Example – Quiet title action , and mortgage foreclosure
                      iii.      Quasi in rem: Power to settle personal dispute between parties but only up to value of property located in state. Action brought for the purpose other than determining competing rights to property
1.      Type 1 – If the claim before the court arises out of or is otherwise related to the property, the action is sometimes referred to as quasi in rem
2.      Type 2 – If the claim before the court us unrelated to the property, the action is sometimes referred to as quasi in rem. The property mainly serves as an asset to satisfy any judgment that the court may enter against the owner.
                      iv.      Significance
1.      How Jurisdiction is Obtained
a.      In Personam – Is obtained by serving the D personally with process.
b.      In Rem – Is obtained by seizing the property. Notice historically was not required, but recent decision force the P to notify the D if they can be found
2.      Effect of Judgment
a.      In Personam – The judgment binds the D personally. The P can have certain assets owned by the D seized and sold in order to satisfy the judgment.
b.      In Rem – A judgment in rem case affects only the property, and is limited to the value of the property.   The P cannot use the judgment to seize other property owned by the D.
3.      Service of Process – Proper service of process is required for a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a D. Any judgment rendered without reasonable notice violates the D’s due process rights and therefore is invalid
Personal Jurisdiction
 
A. Constitutional/Statute Elements of Jurisdiction
i.        Constitutional Articles and Amendments:
                          i.      Article III: Federal Courts: Limits of Jurisdiction
1.      Limits Power of Federal Courts
2.      Federal Courts have power when there is a suit that involves Federal Law, when there is a suit involving citizens of different states.
                        ii.      Article IV: Full Faith and Credit Clause – Any judgment of a state has to be accorded full faith and credit in the other states.
                      iii.      Article VI – Supremacy Clause – The Fed is the supreme law of the land, at least where its power is valid
                      iv.      Due Process Clause
1.      5th Amendment for federal courts
2.      14th Amendment for state courts
                        v.      7th Amendment – Right to Trial by Jury
j.        Statutes
                          i.      Title 28 (28 USC): “Judiciary and Judicial Procedure”
                        ii.      Chapter 85: Subject Matter Jurisdiction
                      iii.      Chapter 87: Venue
                      iv.      Chapter 89: “Removal” from state court
                        v.      Rules of Civil Procedure
C.    Development of the Modern Constitutional Test
a.      Pennoyer v. Neff – Was the first decision to treat personal jurisdiction as a constitutional issue. 
                          i.      Holding: Court distinguishes between In Personam, In rem, and Quasi in rem jurisdiction.
1.      In personam jurisdiction: Power over the person. UNDER PENNOYER, MUST BE ACQUIRED BY PERSONAL SERVICE OF SUMMONS AND