Amount in Controversy


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Amount in Controversy

The value of the relief demanded or the amount of monetary damages claimed in a lawsuit.

Some courts have jurisdiction, or the power to hear cases, only if the amount in controversy is more or less than an amount specified by law. For example, federal district courts can hear lawsuits concerning questions of federal law andcontroversies between citizens of different states, but they can do this only if the amount in controversy is more than $50,000. Some lower-level state courts, such as those that hear small claims, have no authority to hear controversies involving more than certain maximum amounts.

When the amount in controversy determines the court's authority to hear a particular case, it may also be called the jurisdictional amount.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
Rather than specify a dollar amount, state court plaintiffs may plead damages "in an amount to be determined at trial" or "in excess of the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts." These statements do not establish an amount in controversy. If the defendants wish to remove to federal court under a statute imposing an amount-in-controversy requirement most commonly the diversity jurisdiction statute, which requires an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000, "exclusive of interest and costs," 28 U.S.C.
To do so, the defendants must file a notice of removal containing "a plausible allegation that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold." Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co.
Advocate's View: Removing cases when the amount in controversy is unclear
Owens filed a motion for remand, asserting that the removal petition inadequately demonstrated that the amount in controversy exceeded $5,000,000.
Interests of amici curiae
(8) Unfortunately, the circuit courts are currently split regarding how the amount in controversy requirement is met for post-arbitration motions to vacate, confirm, or modify awards.
Where can I go from here? Determining the amount in controversy for diversity jurisdiction in post-award cases under the Federal Arbitration Act
Although Congress established a jurisdictional threshold, it did not establish statutory guidelines for determining when the monetary requirement is satisfied, and therefore judicial interpretation has guided federal courts' determination of the amount in controversy. (7) In St.
The uncertain status of the legal certainty test: the need for consistency among federal courts when determining the amount-in-controversy
the total cost of production compared to the amount in controversy
Zubulake: The real issues
The three jurisdictional prerequisites for diversity removal, then, are: a civil lawsuit, an appropriate amount in controversy, and diversity of citizenship between the parties.
Diversity jurisdiction removal in Florida
Philip Morris Co., Inc., the district court of the Southern District of California ruled that each member of a class action law suit must meet the amount in controversy requirement, despite the Judicial Improvement Act's creation of supplemental jurisdiction.
Class Action Members Must Meet Controversy Requirement Amount
(13) Congress recognized that under pre-CAFA law "class action lawyers typically misuse[d] the jurisdictional threshold to keep their cases out of federal court" and noted as an example of such "misuse" the inclusion in class action complaints of stipulations purporting to limit the amount in controversy to less than the jurisdictional minimum.
Setting the edges: defending against plaintiff end runs around CAFA
(4) One of the jurisdictional requirements is that the class action must involve an amount in controversy in excess of five million dollars.
A real class act: the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005's amount in controversy requirement, removal, and the preponderance of the evidence standard
(1) To effect that purpose, CAFA expanded federal diversity jurisdiction, allowing putative class action lawsuits to be litigated in federal court if (1) the parties are minimally dwerse; (2) (2) the putative class contains at least 100 members; (3) and (3) the aggregate amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.
Frederico v. Home Depot: the Third Circuit clarifies the removal burden for CAFA defendants, but is the burden still too high?
Code in an attempt to limit the number of cases that can be removed to federal court.[1] Although these revisions took a number of forms, perhaps the most significant restriction was an increase in the amount in controversy requirement for diversity jurisdiction from $10,000 to $50,000.
Amount in controversy and removal: current trends and strategic considerations
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