Civil Procedure
Fall 2023
Class Meeting in WH131: Mon and Wed 5:30-7:20 pm
Office Hours in WH211C: Mon and Wed 2:15-3:45 pm (after my Trademark Law class) and 7:20-8:20 pm (after my Civil Procedure class), or by appointment
Required Materials
(1) Joseph W. Glannon, Andrew M. Perlman, and Peter Raven-Hansen, Civil Procedure: A Coursebook, Fourth Edition (2021)
(2) The authors' July 2023 supplement update and other materials distributed to you via USD's Blackboard; and (3) provisions in the following laws:
Title 28 of the U.S. Code (28 U.S.C. §§ 1-5001)
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 1-86)
California Code of Civil Procedure (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1-2107)
Rules and Laws for Civil Actions (open-access PDF with these laws)
Optional Materials
(1) Joseph W. Glannon, Examples and Explanations for Civil Procedure, Ninth Edition, ISBN: 9781543839333 (2023) (hypothetical questions and explanations of the answers).
(2) Joseph W. Glannon, Andrew M. Perlman, and Linda Sandstrom Simard, PracticePerfect Civil Procedure, ISBN 9781543817317 (interactive study aid from Aspen Publishing with videos, illustrative examples, and practice questions).
Reading Assignments
I. Introduction
8/21: Pages 3-40 of the Glannon coursebook and (1) U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 9 (“To constitute tribunals...”) and Article III, Section 1 (Judicial Power Vested); (2) 28 U.S.C. §§ 1, 41, 84, 2072; and (3) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 1, 79, 81 [Note: click on the links above to find (1)-(3)]
Optional materials for 8/21: (1) Orin Kerr, How to Read a Legal Opinion, 11 Green Bag 2d 51 (2007) (2) Skim the Docket, Complaint, Answer, and Jury Verdict in Stone Brewing Co. v. Molson Coors Brewing Company, Case No. 3:18-cv-0331 (filed Feb. 2, 2018) and read a summary of the case and the jury’s decision by Reuters
II. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
8/23: Pages 43-74 of the Glannon coursebook and page 2 of the July 2023 supplement for chapter 3 (diversity jurisdiction in federal courts), and
U.S. Constitution Article III, Section 2 (Scope of Judicial Power)
U.S. Constitution: Amendment XIV (Fourteenth), Section 1
28 U.S.C. §§ 1251, § 1332(a)-(c), (e)
8/28: CB 74-108 of chapters 3-4 (diversity jurisdiction cont’d; federal question jurisdiction) and
28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338
15 U.S.C. § 1121
8/30: CB 108-144 of chapters 4-5 (federal question jurisdiction cont’d; removal of cases from state to federal court) and
28 U.S.C. § 1441(a)-(c)
28 U.S.C. § 1446(a)-(d)
28 U.S.C. § 1447
9/4 (Monday): Labor Day Holiday - no class
III. Personal Jurisdiction
9/6: CB 147-178 of chapter 6 (evolution of personal jurisdiction); CB 309-317 (skip note 3) and CB 323(IV)-327 of chapter 9 (long arm statutes); Pages 25-26 of Glannon July 2023 supplement (long arm statutes) and
Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(1)(A)
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 410.10, 410.50
9/11: CB 179-216(E) of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction)
9/13: Pages 3-21 of Glannon July 2023 supplement; CB 237(B)-246 of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction)
9/18: CB 251-267, 288(IV)-303(V), 306-308 of chapter 8 (other constitutional bases for personal jurisdiction); Pages 22-24 of Glannon July 2023 supplement
9/20: CB 329-330(II), 339-350(IV), 360(start at note 6)-365 of chapter 10 (constitutional requirements of notice and service of process; CB 369-378(IV), 383(V)-385 of chapter 11 (basic venue)
IV. Venue and V. Pleading
9/25: CB 387-417 of chapter 12 (challenges to venue); CB 421-423, 429-430, and 435-437 (read notes 6 and 7) of chapter 13 (basic pleading); and
28 U.S.C. §§ 1390, 1391, 1404, 1406
Fed. R. Civ. P. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
9/27: CB 439 (note 10) - 476 of chapter 13 (basic pleading)
10/2: CB 477-512 of chapter 14 (responding to the complaint); Review the 2022 midterm questions included at the end of the 9/27 PowerPoint slides posted on Blackboard
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8, 12, 54, 55
10/4: Midterm during our regular class time period; Note: The midterm will only cover the material we discussed in class from 8/21 to 9/27. There is no reading assignment for 10/4. Best of luck on the midterm!