Notes

Change of Venue
Venue can be challenged on one of the following
basis :
(a) Venue is improper (transferred to proper
venue).
(b) impartial trial unvailable in original county
(ct will transfer to venue where impartial trial
is available).
(c) convenience of witness or ends of justice would
be served (transfer to convenient venue).
(d) judge is disqualified (transfered to venue
with qualified judge).
(e) stipulation of parties (transfer to stipulated
county - judge has no discretion).
IIcjs jiisc sciij
Forum Non Coveniens
In state ct with PJ, SMJ, and proper venue may
be dismissed if another state or county is a
substantially more convenient or appropriate forum.
The other forum must have SMJ and PJ and state
must be substantially less convenient in terms of
availablity and convenience of witnesses,
interst of the local community case,
and burden of D of litigating in state.
Complaint
the complaint must state
(a) the partis and the claim
(b) state is notice pleading state, so
a short and plain statement of the
claim showing that the pleader is entitled
to relief is sufficient.
(c) Claims of fraud and for speicial damages
must be pleaded with particularity.
(d) the complaint must contain a prayer for
the relief that the P thinks is appropriate.
(e) Amount of damages sought cannot be
contained in a personal injury claim.
psfpa papsf

Answer
The answer must be in 20 days if D was
personally served in the state. Must come in
60 days if personally served outside of state,
publication or under nonresident motorist statute
Must come in 90 days if by mail (from postmark
date). A D has 10 days to file an answer following
the disposition of a pre-answer motion. The
answer must be to allegations in the complaint
(affirm/deny/lack of information) and must
bring defenses or they are waived. All 12(b)
defenses must be brought in the answer or
in the first preanswer motion. Also any claims
against P or another D must be made in
the answer.
12(b) Defenses
(a) lack of subject matter jx
(b) lack of personal jx
(c) improper venue
(d) insufficiency of process
(e) insufficiency of service of process
(f) failure to state a claim upon which
money can be granted
(g) failure to joint a necessary party.
Most are waived if not brought in
initial filing, except
(6) AND (7) can be brought at
any time during trial and lack of
SMJ can never be waived.
Eleven
11 imposes on attys and pro se litigants
that litgatio occurs without abuse of judicial
process. It applies to every pleading, written
motion, or legal memo filed or served
in litigation. the person signing a document
must make "reasonable inquiry" to be sure
that the pleading is warranted in fact,
based on evidence, and based in existing law
(or as good faith challenge to existing law).
Eleven standards are relaxed for limited
scope representation. the judge has broade
discretion in terms to sancitons may
apply (reviewable only for abuse of discreation).
Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
Like a 12(b)(6) motion, a motion for
summary judgment challenges the sufficiency
of the claim but is brought after the
answer is filed, so the judge considers both
types of pleadings.