Chapter 1 - § 1.3 • OVERVIEW OF COLORADO FEDERAL COURTS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 1.3 • OVERVIEW OF COLORADO FEDERAL COURTS

As numerous other books have been written about virtually all aspects of federal procedures and evidence, this book will provide only a snapshot of the federal courts in Colorado as applicable to product liability actions, after a brief discussion of jurisdiction and removal.

§ 1.3.1—Jurisdiction And Removal

The jurisdictional basis for virtually all product liability actions in federal court is diversity. Diversity jurisdiction exists where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and the suit is between citizens of different states.¹³⁵ For the purposes of determining citizenship for diversity jurisdiction, a corporation is a citizen of the state of its incorporation and its principal place of business.¹³⁶

Diversity jurisdiction is common in product liability claims because the manufacturer is often an out-of-state entity. Moreover, as the innocent seller rule usually precludes claims against a seller, as discussed in § 2.3.4, even the fact that a product made by a non-Colorado company was purchased by an in-state company often does not destroy diversity jurisdiction.

If a lawsuit is brought in state court and diversity jurisdiction exists, the defendant may remove the case to federal court.¹³⁷ Usually, the case must be removed within 30 days of service of the complaint and the removal must be consented to by all properly joined and served parties.¹³⁸

Practice Pointer
Practitioners should take care in all of their removal papers, as judges in Colorado's federal district court carefully scrutinize all notices of removal, and frequently remand cases, often sua sponte, that do not meet all of the diversity and removal requirements.

Unlike individual actions, class action removal is governed by the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA).¹³⁹ CAFA provides for removal of putative class actions if, among other things: (1) the amount in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $5 million, exclusive of interest and costs, (2) the aggregate number of proposed plaintiffs is 100 or greater, and (3) any member of the plaintiff class is a citizen of a state different from any defendant.¹⁴⁰

§ 1.3.2—U.S. District Court For District Of Colorado

There is only one federal district court in Colorado, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Currently, there are six active Article III judges, five senior Article III judges, and nine magistrate judges. The court is based...