Civil Procedure (JD Course)

Study content for Civil Procedure (JD Course): notes, practice MCQs and flashcards across 9 syllabus topics. This is AI-generated draft content — citations have not yet been independently verified.

Syllabus

• Jurisdiction and VenueTopic

  Subject-matter jurisdiction: federal question (28 U.S.C. § 1331) · Subject-matter jurisdiction: diversity (§ 1332) — citizenship + $75k threshold · Supplemental jurisdiction (§ 1367)

• PleadingsTopic

  Rule 8 — short and plain statement; notice pleading baseline · Twombly/Iqbal plausibility standard — two-step framework · Rule 9(b) — heightened fraud/mistake pleading

• Pretrial Motions (Rule 12)Topic

  Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss — threadbare vs. plausible factual allegations · Rule 12(b)(1)–(5),(7) — other pre-answer defenses · Rule 12(c) judgment on the pleadings; 12(d) conversion to summary judgment

• DiscoveryTopic

  Rule 26(b)(1) — scope: relevance + proportionality (6-factor test) · Rule 26(a) — mandatory initial disclosures · Interrogatories (Rule 33), document production (Rule 34)

• Joinder of Parties and ClaimsTopic

  Permissive joinder of parties (Rule 20) · Compulsory joinder / required parties (Rule 19) · Claim joinder (Rule 18); counterclaims (Rule 13) — permissive vs. compulsory

• Erie Doctrine / Law Applied in Federal CourtsTopic

  Erie Railroad v. Tompkins — no federal general common law · Hanna v. Plumer — FRCP vs. state law; twin aims of Erie · Outcome-determinative test; federal vs. state procedural distinctions

• Trial Procedure and JuryTopic

  7th Amendment right to jury trial; jury demand (Rule 38) · JMOL (Rule 50(a)) and renewed JMOL (Rule 50(b)) · New trial (Rule 59); remittitur/additur

• Judgments and PreclusionTopic

  Claim preclusion (res judicata) — same claim, valid final judgment, same parties · Issue preclusion (collateral estoppel) — actually litigated, necessarily decided · Non-mutual offensive and defensive collateral estoppel

• Appellate JurisdictionTopic

  Final judgment rule (28 U.S.C. § 1291) · Interlocutory appeals (§ 1292); collateral order doctrine · Standards of review — de novo, clear error, abuse of discretion

• Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins

  What is the holding of Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1937)?

  302 U.S. 671
• Hanna v. Plumer

  What is the two-step framework for determining when FRCP override state law under Hanna v. Plumer?

  380 U.S. 460
• International Shoe Co. v. Washington

  Define the minimum contacts test for personal jurisdiction established in International Shoe.

  326 U.S. 310