New Law Alters Federal Court Jurisdiction and Venue

Posted on December 5, 2011 by David Bloomfield, Jr.


Last week, our divided Congress passed legislation — the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 (JVCA) — that will alter federal court subject matter jurisdiction in a number of ways. The text of the JVCA can be found here. The Congressional report on the bill can be found here. An analysis of the bill can be found here. One commentator noted that the bill, which the President is expected to sign, “embodies the most far-reaching package of revisions to the Judicial Code since the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990.”

Among the changes:

  • The JVCA “resolves several issues relating to the determination of the amount in controversy when the defendant removes a civil action based on diversity.”
  • The act “adopts a carefully crafted ‘bad faith’ exception to the statutory provision prohibiting removal of a diversity case more than one year after filing.”
  • The JVCA “abrogates the Supreme Court decision in Hoffman v. Blaski, 363 U.S. 335 (1960), by authorizing transfer of venue to a district where the action could not have been brought initially, as long as all parties consent.”

    • The law will take effect 30 days after the President signs the bill.

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