Also known as: exceptional circumstance · extraordinary circumstances
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Unusual or rare conditions that justify a court in departing from an otherwise applicable general rule or standard.
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Elena Estrada, an associate at Elite Dynamics, filed a pleading containing denials of factual contentions that lacked evidentiary support. After notice and an opportunity to respond, the court found a Rule 11(b) violation. Because no exceptional circumstances appeared, the court held Elite Dynamics jointly responsible with Estrada for the resulting sanction.
Edgewater Capital, incorporated and headquartered in Delaware, maintained substantial sales and dealerships in California. Plaintiffs sued there for events unrelated to any California conduct. Absent exceptional circumstances rendering the company at home in California, the court held that general jurisdiction did not exist.
Esme Ellington faced trial on federal charges but learned that a key eyewitness planned to leave the country permanently. She moved to depose the witness. The court granted the motion on a showing of exceptional circumstances that made preservation of the testimony necessary in the interest of justice.
Enzo Eastwood faced an ongoing state criminal prosecution and asked a federal court to enjoin it on constitutional grounds. The federal court found no bad-faith prosecution or flagrantly unconstitutional statute. Absent such extraordinary circumstances, the court abstained from interfering with the state proceeding.
Eva Espinosa sued Eclipse Manufacturing in New York for an accident that occurred in Texas. All witnesses and evidence were located in Texas. The court found exceptional circumstances making the New York forum inconvenient and dismissed the action under forum non conveniens.
Elijah Edwards, a member of a religious group, sought an exemption from a generally applicable criminal law banning certain controlled substances. The court applied the law because no exceptional circumstances triggered strict scrutiny of the neutral prohibition.
A court imposes joint responsibility on the firm unless the attorney acted entirely outside the firm's control or knowledge in a manner that no reasonable firm could have prevented. The rule treats the violation as the firm's responsibility by default.
No. A corporation is at home only in its state of incorporation or principal place of business. Substantial sales or operations alone do not qualify as exceptional circumstances that would support general jurisdiction elsewhere.
…to laws that expressly single out religious practices). Ante , at 884-885. The Court cites cases in which, due to various exceptional circumstances, we found strict scrutiny inapposite, to hint that the Court has repudiated that standard altogether. Ante , at 882-884. In short, it effectuates a wholesale overturning of settled law…
…whether the procedures provided by the agency were sufficient to ventilate the issues." Ibid. The court conceded that absent
…born of gestational surrogacy and other types of assisted conception. As the foreword to the model legislation notes, the extraordinary circumstances of these children's births deprive them of parentage in the traditional sense. (9B West's U. Laws Ann. (1992 Supp.) USCACA, supra, at p. 123.) Thus, the intent of the proposed legislation…
…ex rel. Hardy v. Blount , 261 So. 2d 172 (Fla. 1972). They had also held that habeas corpus could not be used, except perhaps in exceptional circumstances, to test the probable cause for detention under an information. See Sullivan v. State ex rel. McCrory , 49 So. 2d 794, 797 (Fla. 1951). The only possible methods for obtaining a judicial…
…Court, in one form of words or another, has repeatedly recognized the existence of the power to decline jurisdiction in exceptional circumstances. As formulated by Mr. Justice Brandeis, the rule is: “Obviously, the proposition that a court having jurisdiction must exercise it, is not universally true; else the admiralty court could…
The movant must demonstrate exceptional circumstances, such as the witness's imminent unavailability, that make preservation necessary in the interest of justice. The court may also order production of designated nonprivileged materials at the deposition.
Only in extraordinary circumstances such as bad-faith prosecution, harassment, or a statute that is flagrantly unconstitutional with no valid applications. Principles of comity and federalism otherwise require abstention.
A court may decline jurisdiction in exceptional circumstances where the chosen forum imposes grave inconvenience and an adequate alternative forum exists. The analysis weighs private and public interest factors to determine whether dismissal serves the interests of justice.
No. Neutral laws of general applicability receive rational-basis review even when they incidentally burden religious exercise. Strict scrutiny applies only when the law is not neutral or generally applicable or when exceptional circumstances are present.