Litigation Procedure and Trial Flashcards

What is 'venue' in personal injury litigation and how is it determined?

Answer: The geographic location where the lawsuit is filed and tried, determined by where the accident occurred, where the defendant resides, or where the parties have minimum contacts

Venue rules specify proper courts geographically; plaintiffs often choose favorable venues (plaintiff-friendly counties), while defendants may move to transfer to a different venue for fairness or convenience.

What is 'diversity jurisdiction' and when can a personal injury case be filed in federal court?

Answer: Federal subject matter jurisdiction based on complete diversity of citizenship between parties and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000

Under 28 U.S.C. §1332, federal courts have jurisdiction when all plaintiffs and defendants are citizens of different states and the claimed damages exceed $75,000.

What is a 'Daubert challenge' in personal injury cases?

Answer: A motion to exclude expert testimony as unreliable because the methodology is not scientifically valid or has not been peer-reviewed

Under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993), federal trial judges act as 'gatekeepers' to ensure expert testimony rests on sufficient facts, reliable methodology, and proper application to the facts.

What is 'joint and several liability' and how does it affect multi-defendant personal injury cases?

Answer: Each defendant is individually responsible for the entire judgment, allowing the plaintiff to collect 100% from any single defendant regardless of their percentage of fault

Under joint and several liability, a plaintiff can pursue any defendant for the full judgment — particularly important when one defendant is judgment-proof (bankrupt or uninsured).

What is a 'judgment lien' and how does it affect a personal injury defendant?

Answer: A lien that attaches to the defendant's real property in the county where the judgment is recorded, allowing the plaintiff to enforce the judgment against that property

Recording a certified copy of a money judgment creates a judgment lien on the defendant's real property in that county, which must be paid (or the lien removed) before the property can be sold or refinanced.

What is 'alternative dispute resolution' (ADR) and how is it commonly used in accident cases?

Answer: Methods of resolving disputes outside court including mediation (non-binding) and arbitration (often binding), used to avoid expensive jury trials

ADR — particularly mediation and binding arbitration — resolves most personal injury cases faster and cheaper than trials, with parties retaining more control over outcomes than with a jury verdict.