Subject matter jurisdiction is the court’s ability to hear a case over certain types of subject matter. In federal civil procedure, there are two primary ways of establishing subject matter jurisdiction: (1) diversity jurisdiction and (2) federal question jurisdiction. However, there is a third way of establishing subject matter jurisdiction: supplemental jurisdiction.
Each claim presented by a plaintiff will implicate state rights (state law claims) or federal rights (federal law claims). Federal law claims automatically have subject matter jurisdiction because it implicates the rights of the federal government. State law claims may still be decided by the federal courts if certain diversity requirements are satisfied.
As an important note, a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1)) is never waived. This issue may be raised as late as the Supreme Court.
Federal Question Jurisdiction
Federal question jurisdiction is available if the plaintiff’s claim, or complaint, arises out of the United States Constitution, federal laws, or treaties. This is known as the well-pleaded complaint rule.
This rule is outlined in 28 USC § 1331 and will be discussed more fully in another article.
Diversity Jurisdiction
If the plaintiff’s claim does not address a federal question, that is, the claim is based on state law, the claim can still be heard in federal courts if there is diversity jurisdiction. Diversity jurisdiction is available if (1) the plaintiff’s claim or claims exceed $75,000 (amount in controversy requirement), and (2) all the plaintiffs are domiciled in different states than all of the defendants (complete diversity requirement).
These requirements are outlined in 28 USC § 1332 and will be discussed more fully in another article.
Supplemental Jurisdiction
There may be occasions where a state law claim does not meet the requirements for diversity jurisdiction but can still be heard by a federal court. For instance, if a state law claim is accompanied by a second federal question claim, then the state law claim may not need to be dismissed.
This is called supplemental jurisdiction applying 28 USC § 1367. There are additional rules which will be discussed in another article.
Disclaimer
The content contained in this article may contain inaccuracies and is not intended to reflect the opinions, views, beliefs, or practices of any academic professor or publication. Instead, this content is a reflection on the author’s understanding of the law and legal practices.
