Fall 2025
Class meeting time: Mon and Wed 5:30-7:20 pm
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:20-4:20 p.m. (after my Trademark Law class) and 7:20-7:50 p.m. (after our Civil Procedure class)
Required Materials
(1) Joseph W. Glannon, Andrew M. Perlman, Peter Raven-Hansen, and Jennifer Reynolds, Civil Procedure: A Coursebook (5th ed. 2025), ISBN 9781543843781
(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)
(For optional class materials - see the Syllabus posted on Canvas)
Reading Assignments
I. Introduction
8/18: 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 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
8/20: CB 43-76 of chapter 3 (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)
8/25: 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
8/27: CB 110-45 of chapter 4 (federal question jurisdiction cont’d) and chapter 5 (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
9/1: Labor Day Holiday - no class
III. Personal Jurisdiction
9/3: CB 149-180 of chapter 6 (evolution of personal jurisdiction); and CB 299-306 and 312-316 of chapter 9 (long arm statutes); pages 2-3 of Glannon July 2025 supplement to chapter 9 (summary of US Supreme Court's Fuld case) (posted in the Files folder of Canvas) ; Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(1)(A); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 410.10, 410.50
9/8: CB 181-228 of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction)
9/10: CB 228-254 of chapter 7 (specific in personam jurisdiction cont’d)
9/15: CB 255-297 of chapter 8 (other constitutional bases for personal jurisdiction)
9/17: CB 317-351 of chapter 10 (the constitutional requirement of notice and methods of service of process); and 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 of the rules)
IV. Venue
9/22: CB 355-371 of chapter 11 (basic venue); CB 373-401 of chapter 12 (challenges to venue); and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1390, 1391, 1404, 1406
V. Pleading
9/24: CB 405-440 of chapter 13 (basic pleading); and Fed. R. Civ. P. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
9/29: CB 427-452 of chapter 13 (basic pleading); CB 453-464 of Chapter 14 (responding to the complaint); review and be prepared to discuss the 2022 midterm questions at the end of the 9/24 PowerPoint slides posted in the Files folder on Canvas; and Fed. R. Civ. P. 55
10/1: CB 464-497 of Chapter 14 (responding to the complaint); and Fed. R. Civ. P. 8, 12
10/6: Midterm
10/8: CB 499-523 of Chapter 15 (care and candor in pleading); and Fed. R. Civ. P. 11
10/13: CB 525-564 of Chapter 16 (amending pleadings); and Fed. R. Civ. P. 15
VI. Joinder and Supplemental Jurisdiction
10/15: CB 567-605 of Chapter 17 (joinder of claims and parties); and Fed. R. Civ. P. 13-14, 17-21, 42
10/20: CB 633-634 of Chapter 18 (summary about complex joinder; not tested on exam); CB 669-670 of Chapter 19 (summary about class actions; not tested on exam); CB 671-705 of chapter 20 (supplemental jurisdiction); and 28 U.S.C. § 1367
VII. Discovery
10/22: CB 709-726 & CB 749-750 of chapter 21 (informal investigation and the scope of discovery); CB 751-766 of chapter 22 (discovery tools); and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26, 37
10/27: CB 755-788 of chapter 22 (discovery tools); CB 789-807 of chapter 23 (discovery control and abuse); and
Skim the discovery rules in Fed. R. Civ. P. 30, 33, 34, 35, 36
VIII. Choice of Law
10/29: CB 811-850 of chapter 24 (state law in federal courts: Erie doctrine); CB 889-890 of chapter 25 (summary about substance and procedure under Erie; not tested on exam)