In Fire-Dex, LLC v. Admiral Ins. Co., No. 24-3781 (6th Cir. June 2, 2025), the Sixth Circuit rejects the holdings of seven other circuits and holds that when a demand for relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a), is combined with a claim for injunctive relief or damages (“coercive relief”), it isContinue reading “Sixth Circuit Charts Its Own Course on Abstention from Declaratory Actions That Are Part of a “Mixed Action” Seeking Injunctive or Legal Relief”
Tag Archives: Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
Hindu Professors at State University Lacked Article III Standing to Challenge School’s “Caste” Discrimination Policy, Holds Ninth Circuit
In Kumar v. Koester, No. 23-4363 (9th Cir. Mar. 12, 2025), the Ninth Circuit dismisses a constitutional challenge to California State University’s anti-discrimination policy that was recently amended to add “caste” as a protected status. Effective January 1, 2022, CSU’s “Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Exploitation, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking, and RetaliationContinue reading “Hindu Professors at State University Lacked Article III Standing to Challenge School’s “Caste” Discrimination Policy, Holds Ninth Circuit”
Federal Agencies Do Not Have An “Unfettered Right to Litigate in Federal Court” Under 28 U.S.C. § 1442, Holds Seventh Circuit
In Thompson v. Army and Air Force Exchange Service, No. 23-2447 (7th Cir. Jan. 8, 2025), the Seventh Circuit holds that a federal agency that removes an action from state court under 28 U.S.C. § 1442 is not entitled to dismissal in federal court on a finding that the federal court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, andContinue reading “Federal Agencies Do Not Have An “Unfettered Right to Litigate in Federal Court” Under 28 U.S.C. § 1442, Holds Seventh Circuit”
Seventh Circuit Questions Standard of Review for Orders Declining to Exercise Ancillary Enforcement Jurisdiction
In Continental Indem. Co. v. BII, Inc., N. 23-1648 (7th Cir. June 12, 2024), the Seventh Circuit affirms dismissal of an action filed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 69 by an insurer against an alleged garnishee, holding that it fell outside the court’s ancillary enforcement jurisdiction. The panel, though, reserves for future consideration whether theContinue reading “Seventh Circuit Questions Standard of Review for Orders Declining to Exercise Ancillary Enforcement Jurisdiction”
Second Circuit Holds That a District Court Has No Duty to Consider a Belated Argument in Support of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
In Behrens v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 21-2603 (2d Cir. Mar. 13, 2024), the Second Circuit publishes an opinion “to consider a question of first impression in this Circuit: whether the existence of subject-matter jurisdiction requires a district court to exercise it, even if it is invoked belatedly—on analogy to the rule that aContinue reading “Second Circuit Holds That a District Court Has No Duty to Consider a Belated Argument in Support of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction”
Claim of Absolute Presidential Immunity Is Non-Jurisdictional and Waivable, Holds Second Circuit
In Carroll v. Trump, No. 23-1045(L) (2d Cir. Dec. 13, 2023), the Second Circuit holds, in “a vexing question of first impression,” that absolute presidential immunity from suit is not jurisdictional, and – in this case – was waived when the former president failed to allege it as an affirmative defense in his answer. InContinue reading “Claim of Absolute Presidential Immunity Is Non-Jurisdictional and Waivable, Holds Second Circuit”
Lack of “Adversity” Between Litigants Over a Constitutional Question Deprives Court of Article III Case or Controversy, Holds Fifth Circuit
In Pool v. City of Houston, No. 22-2049 (5th Cir. Dec. 11, 2023), the Fifth Circuit dismisses a four-year-old First Amendment case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, where the court determines that “all parties have agreed from the beginning . . . that Houston’s [challenged] voter registration provisions governing circulators” are unconstitutional, and thus theContinue reading “Lack of “Adversity” Between Litigants Over a Constitutional Question Deprives Court of Article III Case or Controversy, Holds Fifth Circuit”
Lack of Evidence About the Citizenship of a Limited Liability Company at the Time of the Filing of the Complaint Requires Remand, Holds Fifth Circuit
In SXSW, LLC v. Federal Insurance Co., No. 22-50933 (5th Cir. Oct. 5, 2023), the Fifth Circuit exercises its authority to remand an appeal to the district court to sort out factually whether there was diversity at the time the complaint was filed. Plaintiff “SXSW planned to hold its annual ‘South by Southwest’ festival inContinue reading “Lack of Evidence About the Citizenship of a Limited Liability Company at the Time of the Filing of the Complaint Requires Remand, Holds Fifth Circuit”
Fifth Circuit Rejects “Futility” Exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) Remand Requirement
In Spivey v. Chitimacha Tribe, No. 22-30436 (5th Cir. Aug. 16, 2023), the Fifth Circuit joins the majority of circuits in holding that there is no “futility” exception to ordering the remand of a case to state court under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) when it determines that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a removedContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Rejects “Futility” Exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) Remand Requirement”
Federal Case That May Require Assessing Damage to Decedent’s Estate Assets Not Barred by the Probate Exception to Federal Jurisdiction, Holds First Circuit
In Glassie v. Doucette, No. 21-1761 (1st Cir. Dec. 5, 2022), the First Circuit reverses dismissal of a civil action on federal subject-matter jurisdiction grounds, holding that the so-called probate exception did not apply even though the case may require the district court to award damages for the loss in value of a decedent estate.Continue reading “Federal Case That May Require Assessing Damage to Decedent’s Estate Assets Not Barred by the Probate Exception to Federal Jurisdiction, Holds First Circuit”
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