Civil Procedure

This lesson is about supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367. It is the first of two lessons on Section 1367. Before starting this lesson, you should understand basic subject matter jurisdiction and joinder.

This lesson is intended to be used as both an introduction to Child Custody Jurisdiction and as a review for students who have already studied the material.

The lesson explores the elements of claim preclusion, sometimes referred to as res judicata.

This lesson teaches the basics of class action procedure under Federal Rule 23. The lesson focuses on the requirements of Rules 23(a) and 23(b). (It does not cover jurisdictional issues, appeals, issues of class management, or class settlement.)

This lesson tries to explain Coasean irrelevance (which is often known as the "Coase Theorem").

This lesson has been revised to reflect the December 1, 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as they were re-written effective December 1, 2007.

This lesson is part of a series of lessons about Discovery. Rule 26(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure describes the scope of discovery: This lesson will explore the doctrine of attorney work product. Material that falls under the work product doctrine ordinarily need not be produced in discovery, even if it is extremely relevant.

This lesson is part of a series of lessons about Discovery. If something is privileged, then, it is not discoverable even though it is relevant and proportional. This lesson will explore the doctrine of attorney-client privilege in the context of civil discovery in federal court litigation. Communications protected by the privilege are not discoverable, even if they are extremely relevant.

This lesson is part of a series of lessons about Discovery. Discovery is the process through which the parties exchange information, documents, electronically-stored information, and sometimes even tangible things. This particular lesson focuses on the processes lawyers use to create, respond to, and have disputes about discovery.

This lesson is part of a series of lessons about Discovery, under Rule 26(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This lesson will explore the two main components of discovery relevance: logical relevance and proportionality.

This lesson is designed to help students understand the basic principles of diversity and alienage jurisdiction in the federal district courts. It examines both the constitutional authority for diversity and alienage jurisdiction, U.S. Const. Art. III, § 2, and the statutory provisions that bestow diversity and alienage jurisdiction on the federal district courts, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1)-(a)(3). It consists of both text and explanatory problems.

In this lesson, you are presented with a hypothetical defamation case and instructed to compose a complaint for a diversity action in federal court.

Discovery is the court-related process during litigation through which the parties exchange information relevant to the dispute, including "documents" and "things." In 1970, the rule was amended to add "data compilations." As digital methods of communication and data storage became increasingly common, the discovery rules changed again. They now include a separate category called "electronically stored information" (ESI).

This exercise gives a basic overview of the types of equitable remedies. You need not have read any particular materials or taken any particular law school courses in order to complete the tutorial. It can be used to provide background in your courses where equity is especially relevant or to review the types of equitable remedies for use in a remedies course.

The Erie Doctrine has befuddled Civil Procedure students for decades, but this lesson will take you through the basics: Why is there an Erie Doctrine? When does it apply? How does it apply? How do you tell the difference between substantive and procedural law?

This exercise has two purposes. The first is to engage students actively in legal analysis. Hence, the exercise contains some difficult questions that require careful thought. The second is to provide a survey of the rules of evidence in order to give students a deeper understanding of other subjects studied in Civil Procedure courses.

This lesson takes you through the basic elements of the doctrine of forum non conveniens and through the statutes governing transfer of venue in federal court.

As its name implies, this lesson is designed to give the student an introduction to the subject of interpleader. The lesson briefly describes the concept of interpleader and some of the historical limitations on the remedy, but its focus is on interpleader under the federal statute and Rule 22.

This lesson is designed as an overview of specific jurisdiction. While we will review some of the most important precedents and their implications, our primary focus will be to put the doctrine in context and identify some of its major constitutional dimensions. Other lessons will explore more detailed aspects of the doctrine.

This lesson presents the elements of issue preclusion, sometimes referred to as "collateral estoppel", and exceptions to the doctrine. This lesson will explore the elements of collateral estoppel and the questions of who may be bound by, or take advantage of, the prior adjudication. Another lesson will address the question of whether an adjudication in one jurisdiction can preclude relitigation in a second jurisdiction.

This exercise is designed to help students learn the principles of joinder under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It is designed to be used in different ways. Students may use it as a tutorial to accompany assigned readings, as a supplement to reinforce concepts discussed in class, or as a review before exams. The tutorial is interactive, requiring the student to respond to various questions and hypotheticals to learn the principles embodied in the rules. It does not assume any specific knowledge of the joinder rules - it is designed to teach the rules from the beginning.

This lesson will focus on federal question jurisdiction under the federal question provisions in the Constitution and in section 1331, with primary emphasis on section 1331. We'll also spend a little time looking at related statutes, such as 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338, 1441, and 1454.

This lesson explores the concepts of notice and knowledge. These are important concepts in many areas of law, e.g., contracts, property, constitutional law, criminal procedure and civil procedure.

This lesson is designed to help students understand notice and service of process. It covers the constitutional standard for notice as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court and service of process under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 4).