Civil Procedure

Federal and California civil procedure: jurisdiction, venue, pleadings, discovery, joinder, preclusion and appeals, tested on both the MBE and California essays.

1 chapter1 hour of reading32 practice questions

Read chapter 1 free Practice 10 questions

Chapters

1Subject-Matter Jurisdiction (Federal and California)Whether a court has the power to hear this kind of case. The chapter covers the three federal doors (federal question under § 1331, diversity under § 1332 and supplemental jurisdiction under § 1367), the removal and remand procedure that moves a case between state and federal court, how a party challenges jurisdiction, and how California superior courts classify civil cases as limited or unlimited, with small claims as an option.63 minFree

How California differs

From chapter 1

CACalifornia distinction

What “jurisdiction” means in the two systems

General rule (federal / majority)

A federal district court needs Article III and a statute: § 1331, § 1332 or § 1367. The plaintiff must plead the basis. The objection cannot be waived, and the court raises it itself. The remedy is dismissal, or remand of a removed case.

California

The superior court has general jurisdiction over every civil case no statute sends elsewhere. The plaintiff marks a limited case in the caption; the amount and type of relief decide whether that is correct. Small claims is optional. Misclassification leads to reclassification, not dismissal.

In a superior court case with no removal, write one sentence on general jurisdiction and one on classification. In federal court, or on removal, run the full federal analysis.

Lessons

Elena Marchetti

Civil Procedure lecturer

Former federal district-court law clerk (N.D. Cal.), civil litigator; teaches procedure by walking through the docket.

Our lecturers are AI-voiced teaching personas; the portraits are illustrations.

Video lessons for Civil Procedure are being recorded.

All 13 subjects from $249 a month

Unlimited MBE and California questions, timed sets and mocks, AI essay feedback, every chapter as it is published and a study plan built around your exam date.

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