Monthly Releases

The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the district court properly dismissed a complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction despite plaintiff's motion to transfer the case to a district where the court would have personal jurisdiction over the defendants and the venue would be proper. In Stanifer v. Brannan ____F.3d ____ (2009) WL 1107910 C.A.6 (Ky.), 2009 plaintiff resided in the Western District of Kentucky and was injured in the Northern District of Alabama, where the two defendants resided and where all the events that gave to the litigation occurred. Plaintiff filed a...

The Supreme Court of the United States recently held that there could be an appeal of a remand order entered by a district court after it declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims. In Carlsbad Tech., Inc. v. HIF Bio, Inc. ______ S. Ct. ____ (2009) WL 1174837 U.S., 2009. The district court dismissed a lawsuit's only federal claim and then declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state court claims. The trial court then remanded the case to state court. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed the petitioners appeal finding that...

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that it could review a remand order because the matter was remanded sua sponte based on a procedural defect. In Corporate Management ADV v. Artjen Complexus _____ F.3d _____ (11th Cir. 2009) 2009 WL 606455 (C.A.11(Fla.)), 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 1635. The defendants filed a notice of removal on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, however, they only alleged the residency of one of the parties, rather than his citizenship. Since residency is not the equivalent of citizenship for diversity purposes, the district court concluded that it lacked...

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that the court need not consider the admissibility of expert testimony prior to its consideration of a motion for summary judgment. In Lewis v. CITGO Petroleum Corp. ___ F.3d ____ (7th Cir. 2009) 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 7031,. The court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment based solely on the plaintiffs' inability to demonstrate a triable issue of fact on the necessary element of causation. In the course of entering the summary judgment the court excluded the evidence of two expert witnesses who sought to establish a causal connection to...