Civil Procedure Commons^™

The 2009 Amendment To Federal Rule 15(A)(1) - A Study In Ambiguity, Susan E. Hauser

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Dukes V. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Scholarly Works

This short introduction to Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. aims to explain the case and to set the table for what promises to be thought-provoking roundtable discussion hosted by Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc. Accordingly, what follows is a concise overview of the legal background and current debate over the two procedural issues that the Ninth Circuit explored in detail – how to evaluate Rule 23(a)(2)’s commonality when common questions heavily implicate the case’s merits, and when a Rule 23(b)(2) class can include relief apart from injunctive or declaratory relief without endangering due process.

Manifest Disregard And The Imperfect Procedural Justice Of Arbitration, Thomas V. Burch

Scholarly Works

Arbitration is an efficient dispute-resolution system that respects parties’ right to an accurate award. But because arbitration is designed to be efficient, accuracy is not guaranteed. This presents a challenge when courts are asked to confirm or vacate arbitrators’ decisions. Judges dislike approving inaccurate awards, especially in cases where parties have unequal bargaining power. Yet, judges also recognize arbitration’s limited-review principle. So they are forced to balance their desire for accuracy against arbitration’s efficiency policy. Efficiency typically wins at the expense of accurate outcomes.

This Article contends that courts place too much emphasis on the efficiency policy in mandatory arbitration. …

Iqbal, Twombly, And The Lessons Of The Celotex Trilogy, Hillel Y. Levin

Scholarly Works

This Essay compares the Twombly/Iqbal line of cases to the Celotex trilogy and suggests that developments since the latter offer lessons for the former. Some of the comparisons are obvious: decreased access and increased judicial discretion. However, one important similarity has not been well understood: that the driving force in both contexts has been the lower courts rather than the Supreme Court. Further, while we can expect additional access barriers to be erected in the future, our focus should be on lower courts, rather than other institutional players, as the likely source of those barriers.

Filling The Criminal Liability Gap For Private Military Contractors Abroad: U.S. V. Slough And The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act Of 2010, Missye Brickell

Legislation and Policy Brief

To ensure that all contractors who commit crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan can be prosecuted effectively in the United States, Congress must pass legislation to update Federal criminal law and fill the gaps that may leave certain types of contractors free from any criminal liability. The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2010 (CEJA) attempts to do just that, and while it may deter some PMCs from participating in the U.S. military and security contracting market, the benefits of having a fully accountable U.S. legal system outweigh the drawbacks for individual contracting companies.

Take Me Home To Conley V. Gibson, Country Roads: An Analysis Of The Effect Of Bell Atlantic Corp. V. Twombly And Ashcroft V. Iqbal On West Virginia's Pleading Doctrine, Devon J. Stewart

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Sense Of Disentitlement: Frame-Shifting And Metaphor In Ashcroft V. Iqbal, Lisa A. Eichhorn

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Summary Of Schiff V. Winchell, 126 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 32, Amy Kominsky

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined whether the pre-judgment interest rate is calculated based the date of the original judgment or the date of affirmation on appeal.

Summary Of Quinlan V. Camden Usa Inc., 126 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 30, Zachary Lowe

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appeal from district court’s award of attorney fees and costs in favor of Camden pursuant to a rejected offer of judgment on behalf of Quinlan. The Court decided whether Nevada would adopt an implied consent to service by facsimile for an offer of judgment under NRS 17.115 and NRCP 68.M

In Re Est. Of Sure Chief, No. 2009-P-20 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Jul. 1, 2010)., Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

Court of Appeals held that petitioner could not appeal the appointment of personal representative for her mother’s estate until she had exhausted her remedies at the Lower Court “with verification of how her rights have been violated.”

Trial Practice And Procedure, John O'Shea Sullivan, Ashby L. Kent

Mercer Law Review

The 2009 survey period yielded several noteworthy decisions relating to federal trial practice and procedure in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, several of which involved issues of first impression. This Article analyzes several recent developments in the Eleventh Circuit, including significant rulings in the areas of civil procedure, subject matter jurisdiction, arbitration, and statutory interpretation.

Cy Pres Relief And The Pathologies Of The Modern Class Action: A Normative And Empirical Analysis, Martin H. Redish, Peter Julian, Samantha Zyontz

Faculty Scholarship

Since the mid 1970s, federal courts have taken the doctrine of cy pres relief from the venerable law of trusts and adapted it for use in the modern class action proceeding. In its original context, cy pres was utilized as a means of judicially designating a charitable recipient when, for whatever reason, it was no longer possible to fulfill the original goal of the maker of the trust. The purpose of cy pres was to provide “the next best relief” by finding a recipient who would resemble the original donor’s recipient as much as possible. In the context of class …

When Is An Alternative Forum Available - Rethinking The Forum Non Conveniens Analysis, Joel H. Samuels

Articles

No abstract provided.

Interregional Recognition And Enforcement Of Civil And Commercial Judgments: Lessons For China From Us And Eu Laws, Jie Huang

Duke Law SJD Dissertations

Judgment recognition and enforcement (JRE) between US sister states, between EU member states, and between Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao, are in the category of “interregional JRE.” This Dissertation is a comparative study and focuses on what lessons China can draw from the US and the EU to develop a Multilateral JRE Arrangement between Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao.

In Re Marriage Of Blackman And Blackman, 2008-Ca-100 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Jun. 15, 2010), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court held that Blackfeet Law and Order Code, Chapter 11 only allows appeal from final judgment. Because no final judgment had been rendered by the lower court, the appeal was without merit.

Tribe V. Marceau, 2010-Ap-05 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Jun. 15, 2010), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In a brief order, the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals held that the Tribe could not appeal the trial court judge’s verdict of not guilty due to lack of evidence. The Court cited to Chapter 11 Sec. 11-A of the Blackfeet Tribal Law and Order Code, which limits the circumstances in which the Tribe can appeal in a criminal case. Sec. 11-B, which outlines the circumstances when the Tribe can appeal in a criminal case, does not provide that the Tribe can appeal a not guilty verdict.

Summary Of Polk V. Nevada, 126 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 19, John L. Ward

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

No abstract provided.

Do Class Action Lawyers Make Too Little?, Brian T. Fitzpatrick

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Class action lawyers are some of the most frequently derided players in our system of civil litigation. It is often asserted that class action lawyers take too much from class judgments as fees, that class actions are little more than a device for the lawyers to enrich themselves at the expense of the class. In this Article, I argue that some of this criticism of class action lawyers is misguided. In particular, I perform a normative examination of fee percentages in class action litigation using the social-welfarist utilitarian account of litigation known as deterrence-insurance theory. I argue that in perhaps …

Summary Of In Re Sandoval, 126 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15, Amy Kominsky

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

This case is a certified question that originates from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada to determine whether a default judgment entered for failure to respond to a valid complaint has issue preclusive effects.

Ashcroft In A Defendant's Wonderland: Redefined Pleading Standards In Ashcroft V. Iqbal, Cassidy M. Flake

Mercer Law Review

The United States Supreme Court's decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal is the Court's awaited clarification of its earlier decision in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly. In the wake of Twombly, courts and commentators debated its application to cases other than antitrust disputes. The Court announced in Iqbal that the Twombly complaint requirement of facial plausibility applies to all civil actions filed in federal court, not just antitrust cases. Accordingly, Iqbal currently governs the standards by which all plaintiffs in federal court must draft complaints to state a legally sufficient claim for relief and survive a defendant's motion to …