Federal Question Is Any Federal Court Case
This trap appears as a wrong-answer choice in 1 active question. Spotting how it is built is the repair: read each example's “why it's attractive” before the “why it's wrong.”
Subject distribution
- Civil Procedure1
Example wrong choices
20353_baptism_tank_burst · CIVIL_PROCEDURE · Choice ANo, because Section 1367(b) bars all low-value or nondiverse counterclaims by defendants in diversity cases.
Why it's attractive
The student sees Section 1367(b) and assumes the specific statute must be the sophisticated answer. The breaker is that the answer expands plaintiff-side limits into an all-defendant-claim bar.
Why it's wrong
Over-expands Section 1367(b) into an all-defendant-counterclaim bar.
Spot it next time
Say the Gold Key: defendant same-event counterclaims may ride supplemental jurisdiction.
20353_baptism_tank_burst · CIVIL_PROCEDURE · Choice BYes, but only because the counterclaim presents a federal question.
Why it's attractive
The student senses the court can hear the counterclaim and accepts the first yes answer. The breaker is that no federal-law fact appears, so the yes reason is the wrong jurisdictional hook.
Why it's wrong
Uses a federal-question reason when the stem supplies a same-event supplemental-jurisdiction hook.
Spot it next time
Ask whether the stem gives federal law; if not, use the same-event hook.
20353_baptism_tank_burst · CIVIL_PROCEDURE · Choice CNo, because each claim in a diversity case must independently exceed $75,000.
Why it's attractive
The student remembers the $75,000 diversity threshold and applies it to every claim. The breaker is the word each, because supplemental jurisdiction can carry a related defendant counterclaim below the threshold.
Why it's wrong
Turns the diversity amount threshold into an every-claim independent-amount rule.
Spot it next time
Separate the anchor diversity claim from a related counterclaim riding supplemental jurisdiction.
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