Choosing a Proper Court

Examples

Into the Rings

1. Barnum, a citizen of Maine, sues Ringling Brothers, Inc. for injuries suffered when Kelly, a Ringling Brothers’ clown, fails to secure the door on a lion cage while the train is refueling in Bangor, Maine. Leo, a trained lion, escapes and bites Barnum. Ringling Brothers is incorporated in Wisconsin, with its headquarters in Manhattan, in the Southern District of New York. The circus has its winter quarters in Florida, has permanent facilities for training performers in the Northern District of Ohio, and performs for two or three weeks each year in every state on the eastern seaboard. (For those whose geography is rusty, the eastern seaboard states include Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.)

a. Could the suit be brought in federal district court in Maine? (Maine has only one judicial district.)

b. Could the suit be brought in the Northern District of New York? (New York has Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts.)

c. Could the suit be brought in any federal district court in Ohio?

d. Could the suit be brought in any federal district court in New Jersey?

2. Barnum sues Ringling Brothers and Kelly, the clown who let the lion escape from the train. Kelly is domiciled in Florida.

a. May Barnum sue in federal district court in Maine?

b. May he sue in a Florida federal district court?

c. May he sue in the Southern District of New York?

3. Barnum sues Ringling Brothers and Kelly in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the injuries Barnum suffered in Maine. Barnum serves the summons and complaint on Kelly and on T. Thumb, General Manager of Ringling Brothers, while the circus train is stopped just west of Philadelphia to feed the animals. Is the suit proper under the three rings?

Juggling Acts