Kline case brief of Civ pro PDF

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Practice case brief for kline v. burke...

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Kline v. Burke Construction Company

Procedural History: Burke sued Kline (board of Burke) for breach of contract in federal district court. The board then issued a suit in equity against Burke in state chancery court. Since both suits were in personam, Burke wanted an injunction because of the impending case in federal court. The state chancery court denied injunction, next the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the state court and called for an injunction to be issued. Kline appealed the court of appeals decision. Issue: Was the injunction proper?

Rules: Where the jurisdiction of the state court has first attached, the federal court is precluded from exercising its jurisdiction over the same res to defeat or impair the state court's jurisdiction. "It is settled that, when a state court and a court of the United States may each take jurisdiction of a matter, the tribunal whose jurisdiction first attaches holds it, to the exclusion of the other, until its duty is fully performed, and the jurisdiction involved is exhausted. . .” Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co. v. Wabash R. Holding: No the injunction was not proper. The USSC reversed and ordered the district court to issue an injunction.

Rationale: The right of a litigant to maintain an action in federal court on the ground that there was a controversy between citizens of different states was not one derived from the Constitution. It was not a right granted by the Constitution. The company had a statutory right to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal court, and the state court had jurisdiction of the board's suit. Because there was no res involved, the federal court did not have exclusive authority....