1. CIVIL PROCEDURE FALL 2003 CLASS 3 (8/29/03) STAGES AND ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS OF A CIVIL ACTION Columbus School of Law The Catholic University of America Professor Fischer

2. WRAP-UP OF CLASS 2 of August 27 2003 Important concepts: Difference between civil/criminal cases, difference between procedure/substantive law, parties, remedies, joinder U.S. court system: state and federal courts Tips for studying law

3. STAGES/ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS OF A CIVIL ACTION We’ll look at essential procedural concepts and mechanisms for 3 broad stages of a civil action in federal district court. I. PRE-TRIAL II. TRIAL III. POST-TRIAL

4. I. PRE-TRIAL PROCEDURE 1. CAUSE OF ACTION 2. JOINDER OF CLAIMS 3. JOINDER OF PARTIES 4. JURISDICTION 5. VENUE 6. PLEADING 7. DISCOVERY 8. PRE-TRIAL ADJUDICATION

5. 1. THE CAUSE OF ACTION A.COGNIZABILITY B.CAUSE OF ACTION C.ELEMENTS OF A CAUSE OF ACTION

6. COGNIZABILITY HYPOTHETICAL: Sidra despises the color burgundy. Her neighbor, Howard, drives a burgundy BMW. Sidra wants to sue Howard to force him to drive a different colored car. DOES SIDRA HAVE A LEGALLY COGNIZABLE CLAIM AGAINST HOWARD?

7. ELEMENTS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION E.G. ELEMENTS OF THE TORT OF BATTERY: 1. Intentional and 2. Unwanted Touching To obtain a remedy in a civil action for battery, Andrew must prove ALL of these elements by a preponderance of the evidence

8. 2. JOINDER OF CLAIMS FRCP 18 for rules on joinder of claims - A can bring as many claims as he has against G even if the claims are unrelated!

9. 3. JOINDER OF PARTIES See FRCP 20 for rules on PERMISSIVE JOINDER: “same transaction or occurrence test” See FRCP 19 for rules on JOINDER OF NECESSARY PARTIES More complex joinder rules: FRCP 22 (INTERPLEADER), 23 (CLASS ACTIONS), 24 (INTERVENTION)

10. 4. JURISDICTION The court must have both: A. PERSONAL JURISDICTION and B.SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

11. A. PERSONAL JURISDICTION The U.S. Constitution permits a state’s courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over a D if: D has such MINIMUM CONTACTS with the state that it would comport with due process to require D to defend a lawsuit in that state AND The state legislature has not enacted any additional limits to personal jurisdiction under LONG-ARM STATUTES. Remember: there may be more than one court that can lawfully exercise personal jurisdiction over a given Defendant

12. B. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OF FEDERAL COURTS IS LIMITED Article III of the U.S. Constitution requires Congress to limit the jurisdiction of federal courts Congress has enacted statutes granting limited subject matter jurisdiction to federal courts (e.g. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 (federal question), 1332 (diversity))

13. 5. VENUE Even if there is personal jurisdiction, there is a further question: where within a state can a case be brought? Congress has enacted federal venue legislation There are also statutory venue rules for civil actions in state court

14. 6. PLEADING How do the parties frame their cases? A. Complaint B. Answer C. Counterclaim D. Third Party Claim (Impleader) E. Cross-Claim

15. 7. DISCOVERY What information can one party obtain from another party to the litigation? E.g. INTERROGATORIES (see CB 1079), DEPOSITIONS (see CB 1083), REQUESTS TO INSPECT/COPY DOCUMENTS (see CB 1077) See FRCP 26-37 Importance of district court rules and individual judges rules

16. 8. PRE-TRIAL ADJUDICATION Not all actions go to trial! Contrast with settlement MOTION to DISMISS Complaint (FRCP 12(b)) MOTION for SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FRCP 56)

17. II. TRIAL 1. RULES FOR CONDUCT OF TRIAL 2. ADJUDICATION BEFORE THE END OF TRIAL 3. BURDEN OF PERSUASION

18. III. POST-TRIAL 1. ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENT 2. POST-TRIAL MOTIONS AFFECTING JUDGMENT 3. APPEALS 4. BINDING EFFECT OF JUDGMENT

19. SUMMARY Today’s class was an overview of the stages and essential concepts of a civil action I. PRE-TRIAL II. AT TRIAL and III. POST TRIAL. Not every action will reach every stage or involve every concept discussed today We will flesh out these concepts and procedural mechanisms later in the course so don’t worry if you’re a little confused at this point. Everything will come together as we proceed!