1331
What is the Grable Standard
Federal issues embedded in state claims, claims created by state law, can occasionally arise under a federal issue if it is required for the resolution of the state law claim and if the federal issue is (1) necessarily raised, (2) actually disputed, (3) substantial, (4) capable of resolution in federal court without disrupting the state law balance.
The rule that no plaintiff may be a citizen of the same state as any defendant.
What is complete diversity?
One shared state on opposite sides destroys diversity jurisdiction.
The amount in controversy must be more than this figure, not counting ____ and _____
What is $75,000, not counting interest and costs?
The phrase for when a state claim and a federal claim are part of the same case or controversy.
What is a common nucleus of operative fact?
Ask: same event, same people, same witnesses and evidence?
P (NC) sues her NC employer for federal discrimination and state wrongful discharge from the same firing, and sues her NC landlord over a deposit. The employer removes without the landlord.
What is: the whole case is removable; the federal and related claims stay; the deposit claim is severed and remanded; the landlord's consent isn't needed?
The related claim stays under § 1367(a). The unrelated deposit claim has no jurisdiction.
Rosa, who owns a bakery, sues her flour supplier in federal court for breach of contract after it stops delivering. Her complaint adds that the supplier will argue a federal food-safety rule excused delivery, and that the rule doesn't apply.
What is no federal question jurisdiction because it's an anticipated defense?
Rosa's claim is state contract law. The federal rule appears only as the supplier's expected defense, which the well-pleaded complaint rule ignores.
The name for a corporation's principal place of business: where its officers direct, control, and coordinate its activities.
What is the nerve center?
Not the largest worksite, plant, or number of stores.
When aggregating with one plaintiff vs. multiple defendants, the claims must be
What is joint and severally liable?
The plaintiff can recover the entire amount from any plaintiff.
The limitations clock on a supplemental claim is paused while it is pending and for this many days after it is dismissed.
What is 30 days (or longer if state law allows)?
P sues D, a North Carolina citizen, in North Carolina state court on a federal claim only. D removes. P argues the forum-defendant rule bars removal.
What is proper removal, because the forum-defendant rule applies only to cases removed solely on diversity?
A diner sues a meat processor in state court for negligence after getting sick. His only theory of breach is that the processor violated federal meat-labeling rules, which give private parties no right to sue. The processor removes.
What is no federal question jurisdiction, because borrowing a federal standard for a state tort claim isn't substantial, and allowing it would flood federal courts with ordinary tort cases?
Explanation: “Substantial” doesn’t mean important to the diner. It means important to the federal system as a whole. The question to ask is whether the answer will matter to anyone besides these two parties.
Congress's choice not to create a private right to sue signals the issue doesn't belong in federal court. The claim fails the “substantial” and “federal-state balance” requirements.
Think of something substantial, like protecting a federal charter or the IRS.
Hana, a citizen of Japan with a green card who lives permanently in Raleigh, sues Tom, a North Carolina citizen, for $120,000.
What is no diversity jurisdiction?
The statute excludes suits between a state citizen and a permanent resident alien domiciled in the same state.
Sam sues for $74,000 in damages plus $2,000 in court costs, can these be aggregated?
What is not met? Costs and interest don’t count, so only $74,000 does.
The four reasons a court may decline supplemental jurisdiction.
What are a novel or complex state-law issue, the state claim substantially predominates, all original-jurisdiction claims are dismissed, and exceptional circumstances?
Declining is the court's choice, not a requirement.
Two defendants are both served. Only one of them removes the case, and the other never agrees. The plaintiff doesn't object until 45 days later. Does the case go back to state court?
What is no, because the plaintiff waited too long to object?
A missing agreement is a mistake in how the case was removed, and the plaintiff has only 30 days to object to that kind of mistake. Only a lack of subject matter jurisdiction can be raised at any time.
A warehouse manager's employer-sponsored disability plan, governed by ERISA preemption, refuses to pay her benefits. She sues the plan in state court for breach of contract, pleading only state law. The plan removes.
What is proper removal, because ERISA § 502(a) completely preempts claims to recover plan benefits?
This is one of the few areas of complete preemption. The state claim is treated as federal, so it's removable despite the well-pleaded complaint rule.
A Canadian citizen sues a New York citizen and a Mexican citizen in federal court for $500,000.
What is no diversity jurisdiction, because there are aliens on both sides and no state citizen on the plaintiff's side?
Alienage jurisdiction requires state citizens on one side and aliens on the other. Adding aliens only works when state citizens are on both sides (§ 1332(a)(3)).
Three roommates are hurt, each with a separate injury, by one porch collapse. Each sues the out-of-state landlord in one lawsuit for $30,000.
What is not met, because the amount of controversy and separate plaintiffs with separate injuries can't add their claims together?
claims must be common and indivisible
(each has their own injury and own claim not one single right or claim)
Paul (NY) is tackled by a concert security guard (NY). Paul sues the guard in federal court under a federal civil rights law. In the same case, he adds a state negligence claim against the concert venue (NY) for poorly training the guard. Can the court hear the claim against the venue?
Both claims come from the same tackle, so they are related. Supplemental jurisdiction can bring in a new defendant, and the diversity-only limits in § 1367(b) don’t apply because this is a federal question case.
A federal court remands a case to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The removing defendant was a federal officer who removed under the federal-officer statute. Can she appeal the remand?
What is yes?
Remand orders are generally not reviewable, but cases removed under § 1442 or § 1443 are an exception
A civil action or criminal prosecution in state court may be removed by the United States, a federal agency, or any federal officer (or a person acting under that officer) sued for or relating to any act done under color of federal office.
The doctrine treats a state claim as federal claim because federal law so fully replaces it that no state claim can exist.
What is complete preemption?
It's an exception to the well-pleaded complaint rule.
A Georgia company assigns its $200,000 claim against a Georgia defendant to a Florida collection agency. The agency keeps 1% and sends 99% of any recovery back to the Georgia company. The agency sues in federal court.
What is no jurisdiction, because the assignment was improperly or collusively made to create diversity?
The real party in interest is still the Georgia company.
Nina sues in federal court for $90,000 in good faith. At trial she wins only $12,000. The defendant asks the judge to make Nina pay the court costs, even though Nina won.
What is the judge may refuse to give Nina her costs and may make her pay costs instead, but the court keeps jurisdiction?
Explanation: When a plaintiff in federal court ends up winning less than $75,000, the statute lets the judge deny her costs and make her pay costs. That’s a penalty for bringing a smaller case into federal court. Jurisdiction still stands, because the amount is judged by what she asked for in good faith when she filed.
Pandora (VA) sues Darnell (TX) for $250,000. Darnell brings in Tippy (VA) as a third-party defendant under Rule 14.
What is supplemental jurisdiction over Darnell's claim against Tippy?
§ 1367(b) limits claims by plaintiffs, not by defendants, and Pandora and Darnell are still diverse.
Mia demands $50,000 in a diversity case. Fourteen months after filing, her deposition reveals $120,000 in bills. Nothing suggests she hid it. The defendant removes 10 days later.
What is untimely removal, because a diversity case can't be removed more than one year after it began unless the plaintiff acted in bad faith?