28. Which action should the butcher take to be excused from litigating in State A?

To hear a case, a federal court must have both personal and subject-matter jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction refers to the ability of a court to exercise power over a particular defendant. Subject-matter jurisdiction means the court has the power to adjudicate a certain kind of controversy. In the federal courts, there are two basic kinds: suits between citizens of different states (diversity), and suits involving a federal question. 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

For personal jurisdiction, it is generally not an issue as to the plaintiff because the plaintiff accedes to the court's jurisdiction by bringing suit in that court. A court may not exercise jurisdiction over a defendant unless minimum contacts with the state in which the court sits have been established.

«Minimum contacts» means the defendant must have taken actions that were purposefully directed towards the forum state, including when a defendant commits a tortious act in a state he otherwise has no contacts with.Venue refers to the place within a sovereign jurisdiction in which a given action is to be brought. In federal cases, venue is controlled by 28 U.S.C. §1391, which allows for venue based on the defendant's residence, the place where a substantial part of the relevant events occurred, or the place where the defendant can be made subject to personal jurisdiction.

28 U.S.C. §1404(a) authorizes court-to-court transfers of federal cases from one federal district to another for the convenience of parties and witnesses. A district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where the action might have been brought, or to any district or division to which all parties have consented. However, this transfer provision only applies when the initial venue was proper.

Generally, any action brought in state court of which the federal courts would have had original jurisdiction may be removed by the defendant to the federal district court. For a diversity case, the action will be removable only if no defendant is a citizen of the state in which the action was brought. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b).

C is correct. The butcher's lawyer may file a motion to transfer venue because court-to-court transfers of federal cases may be done in service of convenience for parties and witnesses. If a case is properly brought in federal court in one state, and the action may have originally been brought in a federal court in another state, the judge may transfer it. Here, the case could have originally been brought in federal court in State B instead of in State A because the butcher resides in State B. As such, the lawyer should claim the butcher would experience great inconvenience if the case were litigated in State A.

A is incorrect. This answer conflates the legal meaning of the types of jurisdiction. A minimum contacts inquiry is relevant to establishing personal jurisdiction, not subject matter jurisdiction. Here, there are minimum contacts because the accident occurred in State A, AND there is subject matter jurisdiction by way of diversity.

B is incorrect. This answer is only partially correct. Although the butcher's lawyer may file a motion to transfer venue, he may not do so to cure a defect in personal jurisdiction. As stated above, there is no defect in personal jurisdiction here, as the accident occurred in State A.

D is incorrect. Removal is a mechanism by which a defendant may move a case from state court to federal court. Here, the case is already in federal court. Therefore, the proper mechanism to move the case would be a motion to transfer venue.