Civil Procedure

Fall 2026 

Class meeting time: Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:50 pm

Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 3:00-4:00 pm; Tuesday 9:00 am - 12:00 p.m.

Required Materials 

(1) Joseph W. Glannon, Andrew M. Perlman, Peter Raven-Hansen, and Jennifer Reynolds, Civil Procedure: A Coursebook (5th ed. 2025) - students can use the print version and/or digital ebook version of the book

(2) other materials distributed to you via links on this website or USD's Canvas; and 

(3) provisions in the following laws that I assign as reading: U.S. Constitution; 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)  

Reading Assignments

I. Introduction

8/17: Pages 3-40 of the Glannon coursebook (CB) and 

• U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 8, Clause 9 (“To constitute tribunals...”) and Article III, Section 1 (Judicial Power Vested)

• Title 28 of the U.S. Code: 28 U.S.C. §§ 1, 41, 84, 2072

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 1, 79, 81

• Optional materials: (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 Co., No. 3:18-cv-0331 (filed Feb. 2, 2018) and read this Reuters article about the case 

II. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

8/19: CB 43-76 of chapter 3 (subject matter jurisdiction – diversity jurisdiction) 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

• 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)-(c), (e)

8/24: CB 76-109 of chapters 3 and 4 (diversity jurisdiction cont’d; federal question jurisdiction) and

• 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338

• 15  U.S.C. § 1121

8/26: CB 93-145 of chapters 4 and 5 (federal question jurisdiction cont’d; removal) and

• 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a)-(c)

• 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a)-(d)

• 28 U.S.C. § 1447

III. Personal Jurisdiction

8/31: CB 149-152 and CB 163-180 of chapter 6 (intro to personal jurisdiction); Pages 2-3 of the July 2026 Supplement (Supp.) which you can download from the Files folder in Canvas (Coney Island); Pages 181-198 of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction) [skips Pennoyer and notes and questions after case] 

9/2: CB 198-243 of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction cont'd)

9/7 (Mon): Labor day holiday - no class

9/9: CB 243-254 of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction cont'd); CB 255-278 of chapter 8 (other constitutional bases for personal jurisdiction)

9/14: CB 278-297 of chapter 8 (other constitutional bases for personal jurisdiction cont'd); CB 299-316 of chapter 9 (long arm statutes); Supp. 4-5 (Fuld)

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)

• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 410.10

9/16: CB 317-351 of chapter 10 (constitutional requirement of notice and methods of service of process)

• Fed. R. Civ. P.  4 (Summons)

• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 413.10-417.40 (California’s Service of Summons rules – focus on §§ 413.10, 413.30, 414.10, 415.10, 415.20, and 416.10, and skim the rest)

IV. Venue

9/21: CB 355-371 of chapter 11 (basic venue); CB 373-401 of chapter 12 (challenges to venue: transfers and dismissals)

• 28 U.S.C. §§ 1390, 1391, 1404, 1406 

V. Pleading

9/23: CB 405-440 of chapter 13 (basic pleading)

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

VI. Joinder and Supplemental Jurisdiction

VII. Discovery

VIII. Choice of Law

IX. Trial and Pretrial

X. After Final Judgment