Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure

Elon Law School

Fall 2025

Room 207

Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 1:30–3:15 pm


Eric M. Fink

efink@elon.edu

336-279-9334

Office hours: calendly.com/emfink


Teaching Assistants:

Davi Thornton

dthornton2@elon.edu

Kristian Ellis

kellis12@elon.edu

Description

In this course, you will learn about the procedures for civil suits. Topics to be covered include the scope of a lawsuit, selection of an appropriate forum, presentation of claims and defenses, choice of applicable law, disposition without a trial, and the effect of judgments on future litigation. Other aspects of civil litigation (e.g., discovery, trials, & appeals) are covered in upper-level elective courses. While the course will focus on federal courts, the rules of civil procedure in many states (including North Carolina) are similar.

This course is intended to prepare you for legal practice by developing the knowledge and skill required to recognize and analyze procedural issues in civil litigation, advise clients on those issues and the available options, and draft pleadings and motions.

Course Materials

Required

Civil Procedure: An Open-Source Casebook (v.4.0 2025). Available on the course website: emfink.net/CivPro.

Click & Learn Civil Procedure (Carolina Academic Press).

Suggested

Kevin M. Clermont, Principles of Civil Procedure (West Academic 6th ed. 2021). Digital version available at no cost through the West Academic Online Study Aids Collection. This hornbook provides concise overviews of the topics covered in the course.

Joseph W. Glannon, Examples & Explanations for Civil Procedure (Aspen 9th ed.) or The Glannon Guide to Civil Procedure (Aspen 5th ed.). These are two popular study aids for Civil Procedure, presenting similar content in different formats.

Policies

Grading

Your final grade for the term will be based on the assigned Click & Learn lessons (20%) and a final exam (80%):

  • You will complete the assigned Click & Learn lessons outside of class; you may do so at your own pace, as long as you complete all of the assigned lessons before the date of the Final Exam. These are intended to help you review & assess your understanding of the topics covered. You may redo them as many times as you like, and your grade will be based on your highest scores for each assigned lesson.
  • The final exam (closed-book/closed-note) will consist of essay and short-answer questions. You will take the final exam at the Law School during the Fall Term exam period (date & time TBA).

Attendance

Elon Law School has adopted the following attendance policy for all courses:

The Law School administers a policy that a student maintain regular and punctual class attendance in all courses in which the student is registered, including externships, clinical courses, or simulation courses. Faculty members will give students written notice of their attendance policies before or during the first week of class. These policies may include, but are not limited to: treating late arrivals, early departures, and/or lack of preparation as absences; imposing grade or point reductions for absences, including assigning a failing grade or involuntarily withdrawing a student from the class; and any other policies that a professor deems appropriate to create a rigorous and professional classroom environment.

In case of illness or emergency, students may contact the Office of Student and Professional Life, which will then notify the student’s instructors. A student may notify the faculty member directly of a planned absence and should refer to individual faculty members regarding any policy that may apply. In the case of prolonged illness or incapacity, the student should contact the Office of Student Life.

You should let me know (in advance if feasible) if you are unable to attend class, will arrive late, or must leave early. I do not require an explanation of the reason, nor do I require a doctor’s note or other documentation.

Disability Accommodations

For disability accommodation requests, contact the Elon Disability Services Office.

Honor Code

The Law School honor code applies to all activities related to your law school study, including conduct during class and examinations.

Schedule & Assignments

Date Topic Assignment
     
  1: Introduction  
  Overview Clermont, Chapter 1
September 4 The Judicial System and the Litigation Process Casebook, Chapter 1
  Intro Review Click & Learn
     
  2: Parties and Claims  
  Overview Clermont, Chapter 6
September 6 Permissive Joinder of Claims & Parties Casebook, Chap. 2, §§ 1.1 & 2.1
September 9 Counterclaims Casebook, Chap. 2, § 1.2
September 11 Crossclaims Casebook, Chap. 2, § 1.3
September 13 Third-Party Joinder Casebook, Chap. 2, § 2.2
September 16 Required Parties, Intervention, & Interpleader Casebook, Chap. 2, §§ 2.3, 2.4, & 2.5
  Joinder Review Click & Learn
     
  3: Personal Jurisdiction  
  Overview Clermont, §§ 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
September 18 Due Process and State Power Casebook, Chap. 3, §§ 1.1
September 20 & 23 Minimum Contacts Casebook, Chap. 3, § 1.2
September 25 General Jurisdiction, Consent, & Long-Arm Statutes Casebook, Chap. 3, §§ 1.3, 1.4, & 2
  Personal Jurisdiction Review Click & Learn
     
  4: Subject Matter Jurisdiction  
  Overview Clermont, § 4.1
September 27 & 30 Standing; Federal Question Jurisdiction Casebook, Chap. 4, §§ 1 & 2
October 2 & 7 Diversity Jurisdiction Casebook, Chap. 4, § 3
October 9 & 11 Supplemental Jurisdiction Casebook, Chap. 4, § 4
October 14 Removal Casebook, Chap. 4, § 5
  Subject Matter Jurisdiction Review Click & Learn
     
  5: Choice of Governing Law  
  Overview Clermont, Chapter 3
October 21 & 23 Rules of Decision Act & Erie Casebook, Chap. 5, § 1.1
October 25 & 28 Rules Enabling Act & Hanna Casebook, Chap. 5, §§ 1.2
DATE Choice of State Law Casebook, Chap. 5, § 2
  Choice of Law Review Click & Learn
     
  6: Pleading  
  Overview Clermont, § 2.2(A)
October 30 & November 1 Notice Pleading & Complaints Casebook, Chap. 6, §§ 1 & 2
November 4 Answers and Defenses Casebook, Chap. 6, § 3
November 6 Amendments Casebook, Chap. 6, § 4
November 8 Truthfulness and Good Faith Casebook, Chap. 6, § 5
  Pleadings Review Click & Learn
     
  7: Preclusion  
  Overview Clermont, Chapter 5
November 11 & 13 Claim Preclusion Casebook, Chap. 7, §§ 1 & 2
November 15 & 18 Issue Preclusion Casebook, Chap. 7, § 3
  Preclusion Review Click & Learn
     
  8: Summary Judgment  
  Overview Clermont, § 2.2(B), (C), & (E)(2)
November 20 Standard Casebook, Chap. 8, § 1
November 20 Burden of Production Casebook, Chap. 8, § 2
     
  Summary Judgment Review Click & Learn
     
TBD Final Review  
TBD Final Exam  
Note: Relevant sections from the Clermont hornbook are listed for each unit. These are optional, but you may find them helpful to get an overview before reading the Casebook assignments.