January 6th Notes

Litigation Basics
January 6, 2010

Chapter 2   page 28

WA State Court
-Supreme Court (Olympia)
-Appellate Court (3 judges)
    -Div I  Seattle
    -Division II  Middle
    -Division III  Spokane
-Trial Courts
    -Superior
    -District (under 50K)

Federal Court
-Supreme Court (DC)
-Circuit Court of Appeals
    -9th for WA
-Trial Courts
    -District (Federal District Court) (75K)
        -94 courts (WA has 2 Eastern and Western)

Trial Courts
-a court where the parties to a lawsuit file their pleadings and present evidence to a judge or jury
-where evidence is presented, facts determined, and appropriate law applied
-also called lower courts
-Superior and  District (under 50K)

Court of Appeals (Higher Court)
-a court that decides appeals from a trial court
-trial court proceeding are reviewed for legal errors hat resulted in an unfair trial, review is usually mandatory
-never retry
-review the written, verbatim transcript, or record of lower court
-attorney's submit briefs and can argue orally
-3 judge panel with majority to win
-legal error (judge screw up) prejudicial to the outcome (not harmless)
-reasonable basis for the judge's decision even if a different way
    -do not like to overturn decisions

Brief
-written statement prepared by one side in a lawsuit to explain its case to the judge
-contains a fact summary, a law summary, an argument about hoe the law applies to the facts

Legal Error
-a mistake in the way the law is interpreted or applied to a situation
    examples: judge's misstating the law when instructing the jury, allowing attorneys to introduce evidence that is not relevant or improperly obtained

Appellate Jurisdiction
-the power and authority of a higher court to take up cases that have already been in a lower court and the power to make decisions about these cases
-a trial court may have appellate jurisdiction over cases from an administrative agency
 -this court:
    -affirm: agree with decision and case ends
    -reverse: disagree with decision and case ends
    -remand: sending it back to the lower court to be retried
    (can be reversed and remanded)

Supreme Court (Court of Last Resort)
-highest of the US courts and highest court of most states
-has discretionary rights to review cases
-discretionary review of trial court proceedings and appellate court decision
-Marbury v.  Madison began in Supreme Court since it was a writ of mandate

Federal Court System
-established by US Constitution Article III

US Districts Courts
-94 separate courts
-specialized trial courts: bankruptcy court, US Court of International Trade (international trade and custom duties), US Claims Court (federal government for money damages in civil matters except for tort claims which must be brought in district court)
-don't need federal law if over 75K and from different states

US Court of Appeals
-12 geographic appellate circuits or regions
-a 13th federal court of appeals with nationals jurisdiction has been established to hear patent, copyright, and trademark cases from any district court, and all appeals from the US Claims Court and US Court of International Trade

US Supreme Court
-9 Justices
-in Washington DC with sessions from October through June
-exercises appellate jurisdiction
-petition for a write of certiorari: to request a hearing
-attorneys submit legal briefs and argue orally
-Need 5 of 9 Justices
-can review cases originally tried in state courts as long as some federal or constitutional issue exists
-certain cases it has original jurisdiction Article III § 2
    -ambassadors, public ministers and consuls, where State is a party

Certiorari
-(to make sure)
-an appeal to a higher court that is not required to take for decision
-writ from the higher court asking the lower court for the record of the case

State Court Systems
-many have small claims courts, probate courts, juvenile court, family court

Jurisdiction
1. Geographical area within a court has the right and power to operate
2. The persons about whom and the subject matters about which a court has the right and power to make decisions that are legally binding

-if lawsuit arises under a state law and all parties are are residents of that state then jurisdiction is in the federal court of that state
-where parties are not residents of the same state or where one party has a presence in several states it is more complex

Court meets legal requirements for jurisdiction if:
1. it has subject matter jurisdiction
2. it has personal jurisdiction, in rem jurisdiction or quasi in rem jurisdiction

Land dispute in Hawaii
- A and B in dispute over breach of contract for land
-goes to Superior, Appeals, gets reversed, up to Supreme
    -Supreme says no jurisdiction: this is land court and the title not in dispute, this is about a contract and money, start over

Subject Matter Jurisdiction
-the authority a court has to hear a particular case
-court must always have subject matter jurisdiction
-can never waived subject matter jurisdiction
-A court that lacks subject matter jurisdiction has no power to decide a case, if they do the judgment is void and can be challenged at any time
    -file a motion to dismiss the case

-Federal Courts have limited subject matter:
    1. Federal Law
        -civil rights, discrimination, social security, broadcasting
    2. Cases against the US
    3. Intellectual Property, Patent, Copyrights
    4. Corporate Securities
    5. Admiralty cases (maritime law)
    6. Treaty rights
    7. Disputes between states

-State Courts subject matter:
    1. State constitutional law issues
    2. Personal Injury
    3. Real Property
    4. Landlord/tenant
    5. Contract
    6. Business
    7. Family Law
    8. Probate

-Federal and State subject matter:
    1. State law where diversity of citizenship exists
    2. Certain civil rights cases
    3. Federal constitutional issues
    4. Cases involving certain federal laws

Limited Jurisdiction   
-hear only limited cases
    -examples: juvenile, family law, limited money
-municipal court, district court, justice court

General Jurisdiction   
-power of a court to hear a wide range of cases
-county courts, circuit courts, superior court, court of common pleas

Original Jurisdiction
-the power of a court to take a case, try it and decide it 

Diversity of Citizenship
-persons on one side of a case in federal court come from different states
-28 U.S.C. § 1332
-Requirements:   
    -plaintiff and defendant are not residents of same state
    -damages are $75,000 minimal
    -most require complete diversity
        -all the plaintiffs are from a different state than the defendants
        -duplicate states on different sides can't be heard
            -can have multi on same side not different
-do not need complete diversity for class action or mass torts 28 U.S.C. § 1332
-the $75K can not be aggregated
-corporations are citizens of both the state they are inc. and where the main business is

Choice of Law
 -when federal court exercises jurisdiction under diversity of citizenship, they must follow the state law in which the federal court is situated

Exclusive Jurisdiction
-if a court has exclusive jurisdiction over a subject, no other court in the area can decide a lawsuit on that subject
    -examples: maritime law, patent law, bankruptcy law

Concurrent Jurisdiction
-having the same authority at the same time, two courts have the power to hear the same case
    -examples: employment discrimination, civil rights violation

Removal
-transfer of a case from one court to another
    -example: state to federal court over a civil rights reason
-28 U.S.C. § 1446
-Occurs when:
    -within 30 days of service
    -files notice of removal and copies of any documents received
    -files documents in court where complaint originated
    -written notice to all parties of removal

Supplemental Jurisdiction (pendant/ancillary jurisdiction)
-federal court's right to decide a claim based on a non-federal issue if this claim depends on the same set of facts as does the federal claim
    -example: breach of contract due to patent infringement
-if it has a similar subject matter to the subject matter already in court
-the idea is to hear it all at the same time (judicial economy to get cases moving)
-all the grievances done at once
-even if it could not be heard in federal court if brought alone

Personal Jurisdiction
-the authority a court has to make a ruling affecting the parties
-a court can hear a case without personal jurisdiction if it has in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction
-do not want other state courts deciding matters for your state
-violates procedural due process rights
-the state that hears the matter must have some sort of connection with the matter
-Rule 4 of federal rules of civil procedure: federal court have personal jurisdiction over residents of the state in which the federal district court is located
-must be in accordance to 14th Amendment and state law
     -14th: due process of law must be followed in civil and criminal cases
        -cannot exercise personal jurisdiction unless there are contacts to satisfy "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice"
        -"purposeful availment": doing business in state
    Exists when:   
    1. act in the state that causes injury
    2. causing effect in the state by an act done elsewhere
    3. entering into a contract within the statements
    4. ownership, use, or possession of a thing in the state
-Website interaction if there is something sold online

State Long-Arm Statutes
-allows the court of that state to claim jurisdiction over people outside the state who have allegedly committed torts in the state but the person sued must have minimum contacts with the state
-every state has a statute in order stating we will exercise jurisdiction over people for ...
-all about the same
1. doing an act in the state that causes injury
2. causing an effect in the state by an act done elsewhere
3. entering into a contract within the state
4. ownership, use, or possession of a thing in the state

Waiver by Appearance
-if a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction any judgment is void
-a defendant can waive personal jurisdiction and a general appearance does so automatically

Service of Process
-defendant given proper notice of action

Challenging Personal Jurisdiction
-in the answer to the complaint defendant can challenge personal jurisdiction and have a special appearance to file
    -this is done with a motion to quash service summons
        -request court to declare service is invalid because of jurisdiction

Important Case on Jurisdiction: Erie RR v. Tompkins (1938)
"Erie Doctrine"
-it prevents "forum shopping"
-prevents them from going to federal court to get "better" law than state court laws

International Shoe v. Washington (1945) "Minimum Contacts"
International Shoe case:
-Shoe company selling shoes all over is in St. Louis
-no unemployment fund, WA sued
-Shoe said no offices, no contracts, no stock
FOB: Free on board - all the charges have been paid already
FAS: Free alongside - supplier takes it, you must pay for the delivery

12 terms of jurisdiction (define and provide example)
1. Original
2. Appellate
3. Concurrent
4. Subject Matter
5. Personal
6. Exclusive
7. Supplemental (Ancillary/Pendant)
8. General
9. Limited
10. In Rem
11. Quasi In Rem
12. Removal