Should I Make a Federal Case Out of My Personal Injury Matter? (Update)

You thought the days of convoluted hypotheticals ended with the bar exam, but, alas, they didn't. When the phone rings in your office, the call is from a resident of Tennessee, who recently returned from a vacation gone bad in Manhattan. While crossing a city street, Mr. J. Daniels was struck by a truck owned by a brewery in Wisconsin and operated by Bud Weiser, a resident of New York. So many questions, not the least of which is: where do you file your lawsuit? State Court? Perhaps - but with current caseloads and delays, Mr. Daniels might well be better served by pursuing an action in Federal District Court. There are pluses and minuses to each forum, which leads to the inevitable question: Should you make a "Federal Case" out of your personal injury claim?

This program is taught by Bruce Cheriff and Kenneth Fink, Partners at Cheriff & Fink, P.C.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify three reasons you may find yourself litigating a personal injury case in federal court
2. Assess when to choose federal court as your forum - and when to avoid it
3. Discuss the logistics of bringing and litigating a personal injury case in federal court