Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A condition or matter that is disputed or placed at issue by the parties in a legal proceeding.
HarborGoods Inc. sued BlueWave Shipping Co. in federal district court for negligence and breach of contract after cargo was damaged at sea. The complaint sought only money damages exceeding $75,000 and included a timely jury demand. BlueWave moved to strike the demand by recharacterizing the case as an admiralty proceeding. The court denied the motion because the claims were legal actions for damages that satisfied the amount threshold.
Innovate Pharmaceuticals sued Iris Energy over alleged breaches in a supply agreement. The plaintiff sought broad discovery of internal cost documents. The defendant objected that the requests were disproportionate. The court limited the scope after weighing the amount at stake against the burden, because the sum in dispute shaped the permissible reach of discovery.
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Ian Iverson sued Indigo Textiles for breach of a licensing deal involving a disputed patent. The assigned judge learned that her minor child held shares in Indigo Textiles. The judge recused herself because she knew of the family member's direct economic interest in one of the parties to the proceeding.
Isla Ireland sued a manufacturer in diversity for personal injuries exceeding the jurisdictional minimum. She later joined additional plaintiffs whose individual damages fell below the threshold but arose from the same product defect. The court exercised supplemental jurisdiction over the smaller claims because they shared a common nucleus of operative fact with the anchor claim that met the amount requirement.
Ivy Ibarra sued Icarus Aviation after a plane crash, alleging severe back injuries. The defendant moved for an order requiring her to undergo an orthopedic examination. The court granted the motion because Ibarra had placed her physical condition directly at issue by claiming damages for those injuries.
Isaac Irving sued Innovate Pharmaceuticals for patent infringement. The assigned judge had previously represented the company in the same patent prosecution. The judge recused herself because she had served as counsel in the very matter now before the court.
The Seventh Amendment preserves the right to a jury trial in suits at common law where the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars. Legal claims for money damages that meet this threshold trigger the right when a timely demand is made. Recharacterizing such claims as admiralty or equitable proceedings does not defeat the jury right if the plaintiff seeks legal relief.
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Rule 26(b)(1) requires courts to consider the amount in controversy when determining whether proposed discovery is proportional to the needs of the case. Larger amounts in dispute generally support broader discovery, while smaller amounts may justify limits to avoid undue burden.
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Rule 35(a)(1) authorizes an examination when a party's mental or physical condition is in controversy. The moving party must show good cause, and the condition must genuinely be placed at issue by the pleadings or claims for relief.
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…and be resisted as mere abuse. D'Arcy v. Ketchum et al. , 11 How. 165. In the case against the plaintiff, the property here in controversy sold under the judgment rendered was not attached, nor in any way brought under the jurisdiction of the court. Its first connection with the case was caused by a levy of the execution. It…