Civil Procedure

Jurisdiction overe all civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between: (1) Citizens of different States; (2) Citizens of a different State and citizens or subjects of a foreign state.

Corporation is deemed a citizen of every State and foreign state by which it has been incorporated and of the State or foreign state where it has its principal place of business.

Domicile test

(1) The individual must live in the place; AND (2) Intend to remain indefinitiely (having no definite plan to leave).

Each and every plaintiff is diverse from each and every defendant.

The Nerve-Center Test: the single location where a corporation's top officers direct, control, and coordinate the company's activities.

If a business is unincorporated, and the entity sued is not an individual, courts determine citizenship by considering the organization a citizen of each and every state in which the entity's members are a citizen of.

Rule 1332(a): Diversity jurisdiction requires damages sought be valued at more than $75,000.

Courts apply a "good faith presumption"; the plaintiff's claimed amount will be accepted if made in good faith, and jurisdiction will be upheld unless it appears to a legal certianty that the claim is actually less than the requirement. The rule is quite lenient.

USC Section 1332: "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States."

The Mottley Rule: The federal question must appear ON THE FACE OF THE WELL-PLEADED COMPLAINT; WHERE

The Homes Test: A well-pleaded complaint is one where the suit "arises under the law that creates the cause of action"

Professor Note: Mottley tells you WHERE to look, Holmes tells you WHAT to look FOR!