Civil Procedure — UBE practice questions

Personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant requires:

1. Physical presence in the forum during the tort
2. Citizenship in the forum state at filing
3. A federal statutory authorization independent of due process
4. Minimum contacts satisfying fair play and substantial justice

Answer: D — Minimum contacts satisfying fair play and substantial justice

A) Presence-at-tort is not required; minimum contacts suffice (International Shoe). B) State citizenship is not required for PJ. C) State long-arm plus due process governs; federal authorization is not required. D) Correct — the constitutional test is minimum contacts such that jurisdiction does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

A federal court in State X may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant when the defendant has:

1. Merely filed federal tax returns from that state
2. A distant relative who currently lives in the state
3. Minimum contacts with the state related to the claim
4. Made a single unrelated visit to the state

Answer: C — Minimum contacts with the state related to the claim

A) Filing federal tax returns is not directed at the forum state. B) A relative's residence is not the defendant's own contact. C) Correct — International Shoe requires minimum contacts such that jurisdiction comports with fair play, and specific jurisdiction also requires the claim to arise out of those contacts. D) An isolated, unrelated visit is not purposeful availment for specific jurisdiction.

A defendant served interrogatories; the plaintiff served no answers and no objections by the deadline. The defendant immediately moved for dismissal as a sanction without contacting the plaintiff. The court is MOST likely to do what FIRST?

1. Dismiss the action, because a complete failure to answer is a presumptive contempt of court
2. Deny the motion because the defendant failed to confer in good faith before moving
3. Order the plaintiff to answer and defer harsher sanctions unless the order is disobeyed
4. Enter a preclusion order barring the plaintiff from offering evidence on those subjects

Answer: B — Deny the motion because the defendant failed to confer in good faith before moving

B) Correct — a discovery motion must certify a good-faith attempt to confer, so the threshold defect disposes of this motion before any merits analysis. C) states the usual next step once the motion is properly presented, making it the answer to a near-twin question. A) leaps to the most severe sanction, reserved for willful defiance of a court order. D) is likewise a sanction generally imposed only after an order is violated.

Under Twombly and Iqbal, a complaint survives a Rule 12(b)(6) motion if it:

1. Pleads any facts, even purely speculative allegations
2. Alleges facts stating a claim that is plausible on its face
3. Recites the elements of the cause of action in conclusory form
4. Attaches every document relied on by the plaintiff

Answer: B — Alleges facts stating a claim that is plausible on its face

A) Speculative pleading was rejected in Twombly. B) Correct — the Twiqbal plausibility standard requires factual content permitting a reasonable inference of liability. C) Conclusory recitations are insufficient. D) Attaching documents is not required.

A citizen of State A sued a citizen of State B in federal court, pleading a single state-law fraud claim and alleging damages of $60,000. Before trial the jury returned a verdict of $32,000. The defendant moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. How should the court rule?

1. Deny the motion, because the amount pleaded was made in good faith and was not legally impossible
2. Grant the motion, because the verdict shows the claim never exceeded the statutory threshold
3. Grant the motion, because jurisdiction is tested continuously through the entry of judgment
4. Deny the motion, but strike the damages award down to the jurisdictional floor amount

Answer: A — Deny the motion, because the amount pleaded was made in good faith and was not legally impossible

A) Correct — the plaintiff's good-faith pleading controls unless it appears to a legal certainty that recovery cannot exceed the threshold; a later smaller verdict does not defeat jurisdiction. B) tempts because the verdict seems to prove the claim was small, but hindsight is not the test. C) misstates the rule: diversity and amount are measured at filing, not continuously. D) invents a remedy; courts do not adjust verdicts to fit jurisdiction.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1391, federal venue is proper in a district where:

1. The plaintiff's attorney maintains her law office
2. A substantial part of events giving rise to the claim occurred
3. The plaintiff's family has any historical residence
4. The federal courthouse is closest to the plaintiff's home

Answer: B — A substantial part of events giving rise to the claim occurred

A) Counsel's office is not a venue basis. B) Correct — § 1391(b)(2) permits venue where a substantial part of the events or property is located. C) Historical residence is not the standard. D) Proximity is not a venue rule.

An out-of-state manufacturer sold machines through an independent nationwide distributor and never advertised in the forum. One machine reached the forum through a resale and injured a worker there. The manufacturer moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Which argument is the manufacturer's BEST?

1. The machine's presence in the forum resulted from another party's unilateral acts, not the manufacturer's own conduct
2. The manufacturer is not registered to do business in the forum and has no office or agent there
3. The manufacturer could not foresee that a machine it built would ever travel into the forum state
4. A single product-caused injury can never support jurisdiction absent continuous forum activity

Answer: A — The machine's presence in the forum resulted from another party's unilateral acts, not the manufacturer's own conduct

A) Correct — minimum contacts must arise from the defendant's own purposeful availment; a product arriving through others' choices is not purposeful contact. B) is a true-but-insufficient fact; registration is not required for jurisdiction. C) overstates: foreseeability of travel is usually present and is not by itself the test. D) confuses specific with general jurisdiction; a single suit-related contact can suffice.

Collateral estoppel (issue preclusion) applies when:

1. The prior case involved the same cause of action in whole
2. A judge issued a preliminary injunction against a party
3. A specific issue was actually litigated and necessarily decided
4. The prior case was dismissed without prejudice on procedural grounds

Answer: C — A specific issue was actually litigated and necessarily decided

A) That is claim preclusion, not issue preclusion. B) Interlocutory rulings do not have preclusive effect. C) Correct — issue preclusion requires the issue to have been actually litigated, necessarily determined, and essential to the prior judgment. D) A dismissal without prejudice is not on the merits.

After the plaintiff rested, the defendant moved for judgment as a matter of law; the court denied it. The defendant put on evidence, and the jury found for the plaintiff. The defendant now wants the verdict set aside for insufficient evidence. Which is the MOST important procedural point?

1. The defendant waived the insufficiency argument by choosing to present evidence after the denial
2. The defendant must have renewed the motion after the close of all the evidence to preserve it
3. The court may grant relief only if it also conditionally rules on a new trial motion
4. Sufficiency may be raised for the first time on appeal because it is a pure question of law

Answer: B — The defendant must have renewed the motion after the close of all the evidence to preserve it

B) Correct — a renewed post-verdict motion is available only if the movant moved at the close of all the evidence, so preservation is the pivotal point here. C) is a real requirement about conditional new-trial rulings, but it is a follow-on step, not the threshold. A) treats the presentation of a defense case as waiver, which it is not so long as the motion is renewed. D) is wrong; unpreserved sufficiency challenges are reviewed at best for miscarriage of justice.

A plaintiff sued a defendant within the limitations period and then, after the period ran, amended to add a new defendant who was closely related to the original one, had known of the suit from the start, and knew the original naming was a mistake. Which is MOST accurate about relation back?

1. The amendment relates back only if the plaintiff was not negligent in making the original error
2. The amendment cannot relate back, because adding a party is not the same as adding a claim
3. The amendment relates back only if the new defendant consents to being joined in the action
4. The amendment relates back, because the new party had timely notice and knew of the mistake

Answer: D — The amendment relates back, because the new party had timely notice and knew of the mistake

D) Correct — an amendment changing a party relates back where the claim arises from the same conduct and the new party had timely notice and knew or should have known the suit would have been against it but for a mistake. A) adds a diligence requirement the rule does not impose; the focus is the new party's knowledge. B) is wrong because the rules expressly cover changes of party. C) invents a consent condition.

Subject matter jurisdiction (federal)?

Federal question (28 USC 1331) or diversity (28 USC 1332): complete diversity + amount > $75,000.

Summary judgment?

Granted if no genuine dispute of material fact and movant entitled to judgment as matter of law.

Venue (28 USC 1391)?

Where defendant resides, where claim arose, or where any defendant subject to PJ.

Twombly/Iqbal pleading standard?

Plausibility standard. Allegations must be more than 'speculative' to survive 12(b)(6).