In re Debs
Brief

Citation158 U.S. 564 (1895). Brief Fact Summary. The leader of American Railway Union, Eugene V. Debs, was convicted of contempt of court for ignoring an injunction ordering the union workers back to work. He challenged his conviction, arguing that the federal courts did not have the authority to issue the injunction. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Federal courts may enjoin a strike where it interferes with interstate commerce and the federal postal service. ...

Hans v. Louisiana
Brief

Citation134 U.S. 1 (1890). Brief Fact Summary. Hans (Plaintiff) attempted to sue Louisiana (Defendant) in federal court on a claim arising under federal law. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A citizen of a state may not sue that state in federal court on a claim arising under federal law unless the state consents. ...

Groves v. Slaughter
Brief

Citation40 U.S. 449 (1841). Brief Fact Summary. A provision of the Mississippi constitution disallowed bringing slaves into the state for sale. This prohibition was challenged as being an unlawful restriction of interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause. (The remainder of the factual background and procedural posture is omitted from the casebook.)  Synopsis of Rule of Law. (The Court did not address the constitutional question presented. A rule of law is omitted from the casebook.) ...

Gregory v. Ashcroft
Brief

Citation501 U.S. 452 (1991). Brief Fact Summary. A state law contained a mandatory retirement age for judges. Two state judges challenged the law as being in violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Fourteenth Amendment. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The ADEA does not apply to a state’s most important government officials. ...

Giles v. Harris
Brief

Citation189 U.S. 475 (1903) Brief Fact Summary. Giles (Plaintiff) challenged provisions in the Alabama constitution that resulted in the systematic disenfranchisement of blacks in the state as being unconstitutional. (The remainder of the factual background and procedural posture is omitted from the casebook.)  Synopsis of Rule of Law. (The Court did not address the constitutional issue raised by the case.) ...

Fletcher v. Peck
Brief

Citation10 U.S. 87 (1810). Brief Fact Summary. In 1795, the Georgia legislature sold a large amount of state land to private companies. In 1796, the legislature passed an act aimed at rescinding the previous sale. Peck (Defendant) deeded a portion of this land to Fletcher (Plaintiff).  Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a state passes a law that operates as a contract, it cannot later repeal the law in an effort to divest the rights that flowed from the contract. ...

Ex Parte Merryman
Brief

Citation17 F. Cas. 144 (1861). Brief Fact Summary. President Lincoln suspended the writs of habeas corpus. This suspension was challenged by Merryman’s attorney. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Constitution does not give the president the authority to suspend, or authorize the suspension of, the writ of habeas corpus. ...

Downes v. Bidwell
Brief

Citation182 U.S. 244 (1901). Brief Fact Summary. When Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory, Congress established sources of income for the territory, including duties on Puerto Rican goods imported into the U.S. Downes (Plaintiff) challenged, arguing that the duties violated Article I, § 8, cl.1 of the Constitution. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The revenue clauses in the Constitution extend only to states, not to U.S. territories. ...

Crandall v. Nevada
Brief

Citation73 U.S. 35 (1868). Brief Fact Summary. Crandall (Defendant) was a stagecoach company agent, charged with collecting and paying to the state a per capita tax on every person leaving the state. He argued that the tax was unconstitutional. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A state tax imposed upon all persons leaving the state via normal modes of transportation is unconstitutional. ...

Chisholm v. Georgia
Brief

Citation2 U.S. 419 (1793). Brief Fact Summary. Chisholm (Plaintiff) was a citizen of South Carolina. He sued the State of Georgia (Defendant) in the United States Supreme Court to enforce a debt. Defendant refused to appear, citing sovereign immunity. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Constitution allows a citizen of a state to bring suit against another state, even if that state has not waived sovereign immunity. ...

Chae Chan Ping v. United States
Brief

Citation130 U.S. 581 (1889). Brief Fact Summary. Chae Chan Ping (Plaintiff) was denied reentry into the United States despite having lived in the country for 12 years and argued that the denial violated U.S. treaties with China. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An immigration statute is not unconstitutional because it conflicts with an international treaty. ...

Calder v. Bull
Brief

Citation3 U.S. 386 (1798) Brief Fact Summary. After a probate court disapproved a will in which Bull (Defendant) was named as a beneficiary, allowing Calder (Plaintiff)) to inherit instead, the state legislature passed a resolution setting aside this decree and providing for a new trial and right to appeal. The will was approved in the new proceeding and Plaintiff argued that the resolution violated the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Even when not expressly prohibited by a constitutional provision, a state legislature may not deprive a citizen of ...

Bond v. United States
Brief

Citation134 S.Ct. 2077 (2014) Synopsis of Rule of Law. A court will not determine the constitutionality of a statute if a case may be disposed of on another basis. ...

Williams v. Robinson
Brief

Citation1 F.R.D. 211 (D.D.C. 1940) Brief Fact Summary. Robinson (Defendant) was sued for maintenance by his wife. In response, he filed a cross-complaint against his wife and Williams (Plaintiff) alleging adultery. Plaintiff denied the adultery charges and later filed a separate lawsuit against Defendant for libel and slander. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A counterclaim is compulsory and must be filed with the answer when it arises out of the same transaction or occurrence that was the subject of the original complaint. ...

Webster Eisenlohr, Inc. v. Kalodner
Brief

Citation145 F.2d 316 (3d Cir. 1944). Brief Fact Summary. Webster Eisenlohr, Inc. (Plaintiff) offered to buy stock from members of a class action lawsuit filed against it during litigation of the suit. Judge Kalonder (Defendant) appointed a special master to investigate the offer. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A judge may only involve itself in the controversy before the court and may not order investigations that exceed the scope of that controversy. ...

Snyder v. Harris (Gas Service Co. v. Coburn)
Brief

Citation394 U.S. 332 (1969) Brief Fact Summary. In separate cases, Snyder (Plaintiff) and Coburn (Plaintiff), sought to aggregate the claims of all of the parties represented in their class action lawsuits in order to meet the amount in controversy threshold for federal diversity jurisdiction. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Separate and distinct claims of various claimants in a class action may not be aggregated in order to meet the amount in controversy requirement for federal diversity jurisdiction. ...

Sierocinski v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.
Brief

Citation103 F.2d 843 (3d Cir. 1939). Brief Fact Summary. E.I. Dupont de Nemours & Co. (Defendant) sought to dismiss Sierocinski’s (Plaintiff) lawsuit over a defective dynamite cap for failure to state a specific cause of action. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 only mandates that a plaintiff specify a short, simple statement of a claim under which the plaintiff would be entitled to relief. ...

Sibbach v. Wilson & Co
Brief

Citation312 U.S. 1 (1941). Brief Fact Summary. Sibbach (Plaintiff) appealed a contempt citation, claiming that the Supreme Court did not have the authority to create Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 35 and 37.  Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Supreme Court has the authority to regulate procedure and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 35 and 37 are proper exercises of that authority. ...

O’Brien v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Brief

Citation443 F.Supp. 1182 (N.D. Ga. 1977). Brief Fact Summary. O’Brien (Plaintiff) sued the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) (Defendant) and served written interrogatories on Defendant during the discovery phase. Defendant refused to answer several interrogatories, claiming they improperly called for conclusions and opinions on legal theories.  Synopsis of Rule of Law. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 33(b) only excludes interrogatories concerning purely legal issues unrelated to the facts of the case. ...

Nelson v. Keefer
Brief

Citation451 F.2d 289 (3d Cir. 1971). Brief Fact Summary. Joined personal injury claims were dismissed as failing to meet the amount in controversy requirement when the district court determined pretrial to a legal certainty that none of the claims exceeded the required amount. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A court may dismiss a claim made under federal diversity jurisdiction where it determines to a legal certainty, based on the facts alleged pretrial, that no claim will meet the amount in controversy requirement. ...

Kramer v. Caribbean Mills, Inc
Brief

Citation394 U.S. 823 (1969). Brief Fact Summary. Kramer (Plaintiff) sued Caribbean Mills, Inc. (Defendant), a Haitian corporation, in federal court under diversity jurisdiction. Defendant moved to dismiss for improper jurisdiction because Plaintiff had been assigned the cause of action for nominal consideration from a Panamanian corporation. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a cause of action is assigned improperly or collusively in order to obtain federal diversity jurisdiction, there is no jurisdiction. ...

International Longshoremen’s Local 37 v. Boyd
Brief

Citation347 U.S. 222 (1954). Brief Fact Summary. International Longshoremen’s Local 37 (Plaintiff) sought a judicial declaration that its alien members who traveled outside of the United States for work would not be treated as entering the country for the first time upon their return. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A court should not attempt to determine the scope and constitutionality of legislation before the statue has actually imposed an adverse effect in a concrete case. ...

Identiseal Corp. v. Positive Identification Systems, Inc.
Brief

Citation560 F.2d 298 (7th Cir. 1977). Brief Fact Summary. The district court ordered Identiseal Corp. (Plaintiff) to conduct additional discovery. When Plaintiff refused, the court dismissed the action. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Dismissal for failure to follow a discovery order is only appropriate when the failure equates to a failure to prosecute.  ...

Handel v. New York Rapid Transit Corp.
Brief

Citation252 App. Div. 142 (N.Y. App. Div. 1937). Brief Fact Summary. Statement made by Handel (Plaintiff) as to the cause of his injuries was excluded at trial and the suit dismissed. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A statement made after an event, relating that event, is inadmissible hearsay. ...

Freed v. Erie Lackawanna Railway Co.
Brief

Citation445 F.2d 619 (6th Cir. 1971) Brief Fact Summary. Freed (Plaintiff) was struck by a train car operated by Erie Lackawanna Railway Co. (Defendant) and sued over his injuries. Defendant introduced evidence at trial that conflicted with answers it had provided to interrogatories. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Answers to interrogatories provided by a party are not binding on that party at trial. ...