SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

U.S.C. § 1331. Federal question

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws,
or treaties of the United States.

28 U.S.C. § 1332. Diversity of citizenship; amount in controversy; costs

(a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the matter in controversy
exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between—
(1) citizens of different States;
(2) citizens of a State and citizens or subjects of a foreign state;
(3) citizens of different States and in which citizens or subjects of a foreign state are
additional parties; and

(4) a foreign state, defined in section 1603 (a) of this title, as plaintiff and citizens of a State or of
different States.
For the purposes of this section, section 1335, and section 1441, an alien admitted to the United
States for permanent residence shall be deemed a citizen of the State in which such alien is
domiciled.

(b) Except when express provision therefor is otherwise made in a statute of the United States, where the
plaintiff who files the case originally in the Federal courts is finally adjudged to be entitled to recover less
than the sum or value of $75,000, computed without regard to any setoff or counterclaim to which the
defendant may be adjudged to be entitled, and exclusive of interest and costs, the district court may deny
costs to the plaintiff and, in addition, may impose costs on the plaintiff.

(c) For the purposes of this section and section 1441 of this title—
(1) a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of any State by which it has been incorporated
and of the State where it has its principal place of business, except that in any direct action
against the insurer of a policy or contract of liability insurance, whether incorporated or
unincorporated, to which action the insured is not joined as a party- defendant, such insurer
shall be deemed a citizen of the State of which the insured is a citizen, as well as of any State
by which the insurer has been incorporated and of the State where it has its principal place of
business; and

(2) the legal representative of the estate of a decedent shall be deemed to be a citizen only
of the same State as the decedent, and the legal representative of an infant or incompetent
shall be deemed to be a citizen only of the same State as the infant or incompetent.
VENUE

28 U.S.C. § 1391. Venue generally

(a) A civil action wherein jurisdiction is founded only on diversity of citizenship may, except as otherwise provided
by law, be brought only in

(1) a judicial district where any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State,
(2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred,
or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or
(3) a judicial district in which any defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is
commenced, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be brought.

(b) A civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship may, except as otherwise
provided by law, be brought only in
(1) a judicial district where any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State,
(2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred,
or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or
(3) a judicial district in which any defendant may be found, if there is no district in which the action may
otherwise be brought.

(c) For purposes of venue under this chapter, a defendant that is a corporation shall be deemed to reside in any
judicial district in which it is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced. In a State which
has more than one judicial district and in which a defendant that is a corporation is subject to personal jurisdiction at
the time an action is commenced, such corporation shall be deemed to reside in any district in that State within
which its contacts would be sufficient to subject it to personal jurisdiction if that district were a separate State, and,
if there is no such district, the corporation shall be deemed to reside in the district within which it has the most
significant contacts.

(d) An alien may be sued in any district.

28 U.S.C. § 1392. Defendants or property in different districts in same State

Any civil action, of a local nature, involving property located in different districts in the same State, may be brought
in any of such districts.

28 U.S.C. § 1404. Change of venue

(a) For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil
action to any other district or division where it might have been brought.

(b) Upon motion, consent or stipulation of all parties, any action, suit or proceeding of a civil nature or any motion
or hearing thereof, may be transferred, in the discretion of the court, from the division in which pending to any other
division in the same district. Transfer of proceedings in rem brought by or on behalf of the United States may be
transferred under this section without the consent of the United States where all other parties request transfer.

(c) A district court may order any civil action to be tried at any place within the division in which it is pending.

(d) As used in this section, the term “district court” includes the District Court of Guam, the District Court for the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the District Court of the Virgin Islands, and the term “district” includes the territorial
jurisdiction of each such court.
REMOVAL

28 U.S.C. § 1441. Actions removable generally

(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which
the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the
defendants, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such
action is pending. For purposes of removal under this chapter, the citizenship of defendants sued under fictitious
names shall be disregarded.

(b) Any civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction founded on a claim or right arising under
the Constitution, treaties or laws of the United States shall be removable without regard to the citizenship or
residence of the parties. Any other such action shall be removable only if none of the parties in interest properly
joined and served as defendants is a citizen of the State in which such action is brought.

(c) Whenever a separate and independent claim or cause of action within the jurisdiction conferred by section 1331
of this title is joined with one or more otherwise non-removable claims or causes of action, the entire case may be
removed and the district court may determine all issues therein, or, in its discretion, may remand all matters in which
State law predominates.

(d) Any civil action brought in a State court against a foreign state as defined in section 1603 (a) of this title may be
removed by the foreign state to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the
place where such action is pending. Upon removal the action shall be tried by the court without jury. Where removal
is based upon this subsection, the time limitations of section 1446 (b) of this chapter may be enlarged at any time for
cause shown.

(e)
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a defendant in a civil action in a State
court may remove the action to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing
the place where the action is pending if—

(A) the action could have been brought in a United States district court under section 1369 of this
title; or
(B) the defendant is a party to an action which is or could have been brought, in whole or in part,
under section 1369 in a United States district court and arises from the same accident as the action
in State court, even if the action to be removed could not have been brought in a district court as
an original matter.

The removal of an action under this subsection shall be made in accordance with section 1446 of
this title, except that a notice of removal may also be filed before trial of the action in State court
within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first becomes a party to an action under
section 1369 in a United States district court that arises from the same accident as the action in
State court, or at a later time with leave of the district court.

(2) Whenever an action is removed under this subsection and the district court to which it is removed or
transferred under section 1407 (j) has made a liability determination requiring further proceedings as to
damages, the district court shall remand the action to the State court from which it had been removed for
the determination of damages, unless the court finds that, for the convenience of parties and witnesses and
in the interest of justice, the action should be retained for the determination of damages.

(3) Any remand under paragraph (2) shall not be effective until 60 days after the district court has issued an
order determining liability and has certified its intention to remand the removed action for the
determination of damages. An appeal with respect to the liability determination of the district court may be
 taken during that 60-day period to the court of appeals with appellate jurisdiction over the district court. In
the event a party files such an appeal, the remand shall not be effective until the appeal has been finally
disposed of. Once the remand has become effective, the liability determination shall not be subject to
further review by appeal or otherwise.

(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the determination of damages shall not be
reviewable by appeal or otherwise.

(5) An action removed under this subsection shall be deemed to be an action under section 1369 and an
action in which jurisdiction is based on section 1369 of this title for purposes of this section and sections
1407, 1697, and 1785 of this title.

(6) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of the district court to transfer or dismiss an action
on the ground of inconvenient forum.

(f) The court to which a civil action is removed under this section is not precluded from hearing and determining any
claim in such civil action because the State court from which such civil action is removed did not have jurisdiction
over that claim.

28 U.S.C. § 1446. Procedure for removal

(a) A defendant or defendants desiring to remove any civil action or criminal prosecution from a State court shall
file in the district court of the United States for the district and division within which such action is pending a notice
of removal signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and containing a short and plain
statement of the grounds for removal, together with a copy of all process, pleadings, and orders served upon such
defendant or defendants in such action.

(b) The notice of removal of a civil action or proceeding shall be filed within thirty days after the receipt by the
defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy of the initial pleading setting forth the claim for relief upon which
such action or proceeding is based, or within thirty days after the service of summons upon the defendant if such
initial pleading has then been filed in court and is not required to be served on the defendant, whichever period is
shorter.
If the case stated by the initial pleading is not removable, a notice of removal may be filed within thirty days after
receipt by the defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy of an amended pleading, motion, order or other
paper from which it may first be ascertained that the case is one which is or has become removable, except that a
case may not be removed on the basis of jurisdiction conferred by section 1332 of this title more than 1 year after
commencement of the action.

(c)
(1) A notice of removal of a criminal prosecution shall be filed not later than thirty days after the
arraignment in the State court, or at any time before trial, whichever is earlier, except that for good cause
shown the United States district court may enter an order granting the defendant or defendants leave to file
the notice at a later time.

(2) A notice of removal of a criminal prosecution shall include all grounds for such removal. A failure to
state grounds which exist at the time of the filing of the notice shall constitute a waiver of such grounds,
and a second notice may be filed only on grounds not existing at the time of the original notice. For good
cause shown, the United States district court may grant relief from the limitations of this paragraph.

(3) The filing of a notice of removal of a criminal prosecution shall not prevent the State court in which
such prosecution is pending from proceeding further, except that a judgment of conviction shall not be
entered unless the prosecution is first remanded.
 (4) The United States district court in which such notice is filed shall examine the notice promptly. If it
clearly appears on the face of the notice and any exhibits annexed thereto that removal should not be
permitted, the court shall make an order for summary remand.

(5) If the United States district court does not order the summary remand of such prosecution, it shall order
an evidentiary hearing to be held promptly and after such hearing shall make such disposition of the
prosecution as justice shall require. If the United States district court determines that removal shall be
permitted, it shall so notify the State court in which prosecution is pending, which shall proceed no further.

(d) Promptly after the filing of such notice of removal of a civil action the defendant or defendants shall give written
notice thereof to all adverse parties and shall file a copy of the notice with the clerk of such State court, which shall
effect the removal and the State court shall proceed no further unless and until the case is remanded.

(e) If the defendant or defendants are in actual custody on process issued by the State court, the district court shall
issue its writ of habeas corpus, and the marshal shall thereupon take such defendant or defendants into his custody
and deliver a copy of the writ to the clerk of such State court.

(f) With respect to any counterclaim removed to a district court pursuant to section 337(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930,
the district court shall resolve such counterclaim in the same manner as an original complaint under the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, except that the payment of a filing fee shall not be required in such cases and the
counterclaim shall relate back to the date of the original complaint in the proceeding before the International Trade
Commission under section 337 of that Act.

28 U.S.C. § 1447. Procedure after removal generally

(a) In any case removed from a State court, the district court may issue all necessary orders and process to bring
before it all proper parties whether served by process issued by the State court or otherwise.

(b) It may require the removing party to file with its clerk copies of all records and proceedings in such State court
or may cause the same to be brought before it by writ of certiorari issued to such State court.

(c) A motion to remand the case on the basis of any defect other than lack of subject matter jurisdiction must be
made within 30 days after the filing of the notice of removal under section 1446 (a). If at any time before final
judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded. An order
remanding the case may require payment of just costs and any actual expenses, including attorney fees, incurred as a
result of the removal. A certified copy of the order of remand shall be mailed by the clerk to the clerk of the State
court. The State court may thereupon proceed with such case.
(d) An order remanding a case to the State court from which it was removed is not reviewable on appeal or
otherwise, except that an order remanding a case to the State court from which it was removed pursuant to section
1443 of this title shall be reviewable by appeal or otherwise.

(e) If after removal the plaintiff seeks to join additional defendants whose joinder would destroy subject matter
jurisdiction, the court may deny joinder, or permit joinder and remand the action to the State court.

28 U.S.C. § 1448. Process after removal

In all cases removed from any State court to any district court of the United States in which any one or more of the
defendants has not been served with process or in which the service has not been perfected prior to removal, or in
which process served proves to be defective, such process or service may be completed or new process issued in the
same manner as in cases originally filed in such district court.

This section shall not deprive any defendant upon whom process is served after removal of his right to move to
remand the case.
FRCP Rule 81(c) Removed Actions.

(1) Applicability.

These rules apply to a civil action after it is removed from a state court.

(2) Further Pleading.

After removal, repleading is unnecessary unless the court orders it. A defendant who did not answer before removal
must answer or present other defenses or objections under these rules within the longest of these periods:

(A) 21 days after receiving — through service or otherwise — a copy of the initial pleading stating the claim for
relief;

(B) 21 days after being served with the summons for an initial pleading on file at the time of service; or

(C) 7 days after the notice of removal is filed.

(3) Demand for a Jury Trial.

(A) As Affected by State Law. A party who, before removal, expressly demanded a jury trial in accordance with state
law need not renew the demand after removal. If the state law did not require an express demand for a jury trial, a
party need not make one after removal unless the court orders the parties to do so within a specified time. The court
must so order at a party's request and may so order on its own. A party who fails to make a demand when so ordered
waives a jury trial.

(B) Under Rule 38. If all necessary pleadings have been served at the time of removal, a party entitled to a jury trial
under Rule 38 must be given one if the party serves a demand within 14 days after:

(i) it files a notice of removal; or

(ii) it is served with a notice of removal filed by another party.

PERSONAL JURISDICTION (IN STATE COURT)

U.S. Constitution Article IV Section 1.

Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the
Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect
thereof.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment XIV

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens
of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2.

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number
of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for
President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and
citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

Section 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an
officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support
the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to
the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
ERIE: CHOICE OF LAW IN FEDERAL DIVERSITY CASES

28 U.S.C. § 1652. State laws as rules of decision

The laws of the several states, except where the Constitution or treaties of the United States or Acts of
Congress otherwise require or provide, shall be regarded as rules of decision in civil actions in the courts
of the United States, in cases where they apply.

28 U.S.C. § 2072. Rules of procedure and evidence; power to prescribe

(a) The Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe general rules of practice and procedure and
rules of evidence for cases in the United States district courts (including proceedings before magistrate
judges thereof) and courts of appeals.

(b) Such rules shall not abridge, enlarge or modify any substantive right. All laws in conflict with such
rules shall be of no further force or effect after such rules have taken effect.

(c) Such rules may define when a ruling of a district court is final for the purposes of appeal under section
1291 of this title.