Exam 3: Civil Dispute Resolution

A court will grant summary judgment after a trial if the judge makes a final, binding determination on the merits of the case.

A typical state long-arm statute applies only to nonresident defendants who commit criminal acts in the state.

A deposition is a pretrial discovery device, which consists of sworn testimony of a witness or the opposing party.

Describe how a civil case is commenced and how it proceeds through the court system.Be sure to use appropriate terminology in describing the various stages of a lawsuit.

Diversity of citizenship exists when:

The decisions of the U.S.Courts of Appeals are binding on the other federal courts except for the U.S.Supreme Court.

With a __________ the jury makes specific written findings on each factual issue, and the judge then applies the law to these findings.

The appellate court does not hear any new evidence but rather takes the case upon the record, abstracts, and briefs.

The jury's verdict in a summary jury trial is not binding on the parties.

What are the ways that cases may reach the U.S.Supreme Court?

Only a small percentage of petitions to the U.S.Supreme Court for review by certiorari are granted.

Generally, State A may exercise "long-arm" jurisdiction over a defendant located in State B if the defendant:

In a civil lawsuit, after a plaintiff files a complaint with the clerk of the trial court, the clerk issues a summons to be served on the defendant to notify him that a suit has been brought against him.

A counterclaim is a document filed by a defendant denying the allegations of the complaint.

The U.S.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviews decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board and the U.S.Court of Veterans Appeals.

Jessup and Lange are having a dispute regarding some property.They want to have a binding resolution to their dispute, but they would prefer to have the dispute handled privately and by someone with special expertise.The best form of dispute resolution for their problem would be:

Patricia has a valid judgment against David.David lives in California, where he owns thousands of acres of beach-front property, unrelated to the judgment.Patricia may execute her judgment in California based on what type of jurisdiction?

The federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over:

An appeal from a small claims court is taken to the state court of appeals where a trial de novo is begun.

One reason arbitration may be preferred over litigation is that the quality of the decision may be higher than that available through the court system.