Civil Procedure Multistate Bar Practice Exam

What is necessary for a diversity of citizenship case to proceed?

1. All parties must be from the same state

2. Each party must have different citizenship

3. The amount in controversy must exceed $100,000

4. The plaintiffs must be citizens of the same state

The correct answer is: Each party must have different citizenship

For a diversity of citizenship case to proceed, each party must have different citizenship. This means that the plaintiffs and the defendants must be from different states. The principle behind diversity jurisdiction is to prevent bias that might occur if a party were to litigate in their home state against an out-of-state party. In the context of the options, having different citizenship between parties is a fundamental requirement under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The rationale is that if the parties are from different states, it implicates federal jurisdiction to ensure fairness in judicial processes. While the amount in controversy is also an important factor, it does not have to exceed $100,000; rather, it must exceed $75,000 to establish federal jurisdiction under diversity. The requirement about all parties being from the same state is, in fact, the opposite of what is needed for diversity jurisdiction to exist. Lastly, the plaintiffs being citizens of the same state is not a relevant factor for establishing diversity – the focus is on the differences between the plaintiffs' and defendants' states of citizenship.