MT Bar flashcards
MT Bar · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Complete diversity
- No plaintiff shares state citizenship with any defendant; corporation citizenship includes incorporation state and principal place of business; LLC members' citizenship controls.
- Amount in controversy
- Diversity jurisdiction requires more than $75,000 exclusive of interest and costs; plaintiff's good-faith claim controls unless legally certain below threshold.
- Erie doctrine
- Federal court in diversity applies state substantive law and federal procedural rules; if no valid federal rule, apply state law when outcome determinative or forum shopping risk.
- Hearsay definition
- Out-of-court statement offered to prove truth of matter asserted; party-opponent statements are nonhearsay; prior sworn inconsistent statements may be substantive if under oath.
- UCC firm offer
- Merchant's signed writing promising to keep offer open is irrevocable without consideration for stated time or reasonable time, capped at three months.
- Search incident arrest
- Warrantless search of arrestee's person and area within immediate control permitted to prevent weapons or evidence destruction; applies to recent occupant vehicle only if arrestee within reaching distance.
- Res ipsa loquitur
- Negligence inference requires accident of type ordinarily not occurring absent negligence and instrumentality in defendant's exclusive control; plaintiff must not contribute.
- Race-notice recording
- Subsequent bona fide purchaser prevails by recording first without notice of prior interest; notice includes actual, inquiry, and record notice.
- Adverse possession elements
- Actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous for statutory period, and hostile possession; state law may require color of title or payment of taxes.
- Strict scrutiny
- Law necessary to achieve compelling government interest and narrowly tailored; applies to suspect classifications and fundamental rights.
- Promissory estoppel
- Promise reasonably inducing detrimental reliance that justice requires enforcement; remedy may be reliance damages; typically no contract without acceptance.
- Contributory negligence
- Plaintiff's failure to exercise reasonable care for own safety; traditional rule bars recovery completely; comparative jurisdictions reduce recovery by fault percentage.
- Business judgment rule
- Directors' decisions protected if made in good faith, informed, and without conflict; rebuttable by breach of loyalty, care, or bad faith.
- Plain view doctrine
- Warrantless seizure of evidence permitted when officer lawfully present, item immediately apparent as evidence, and lawful right of access.
- Apparent authority
- Principal's manifestations lead third party reasonably to believe agent authorized; principal bound even without actual authority; reliance must be reasonable.
- Partnership joint liability
- Partners are jointly and severally liable for partnership obligations; a partner's admission in ordinary course binds partnership; individual partners may be sued.
- Derivative demand futility
- Shareholder may sue derivatively if demand on board excused; demand futility shown when majority of directors lack independence or face substantial likelihood of liability.
- Security agreement attachment
- Article 9 attachment requires value given, debtor rights in collateral, and authenticated security agreement describing collateral; attachment creates enforceable security interest.
- Perfection by filing
- File financing statement with debtor name and collateral description; perfects most security interests; priority generally first to file or perfect.
- Premarital agreement
- Enforceable if in writing and signed, voluntary, with fair disclosure or knowledge; unconscionability and lack of counsel may affect enforceability.
- Child custody best interests
- Court weighs child's welfare, stability, parental fitness, child preference, sibling relationships, and domestic violence; gender not determinative.
- Holographic will
- Will with material provisions in testator's handwriting and signed by testator; many states require no witnesses; date may matter.
- Spendthrift trust
- Trust provision restricts beneficiary's voluntary and involuntary alienation; beneficiary's creditors generally cannot reach trust principal or mandatory distributions before receipt.
- Most significant relationship
- Conflict-of-laws test for contracts and torts weighing connecting contacts, policies, and expectations; place of injury or contracting may not control.
- Closed universe
- MPT provides all applicable law in library and facts in file; candidates may not use outside statutes or cases.
- Task memo
- Instruction document specifies deliverable, audience, tone, and legal issues; it controls format and scope of response.
- Objective memorandum
- Neutral legal analysis with Question Presented, Brief Answer, Facts, Discussion, Conclusion; predicts likely outcome rather than advocates.
- Persuasive brief
- Advocacy document with caption, statement of facts, argument headings, and conclusion; cites library authority and applies it to client facts.
- Client letter
- Correspondence translating legal analysis into plain language; explains facts, law, options, risks, and recommended next steps.
- Library and file
- Library contains statutes, cases, and rules; file contains transcripts, contracts, correspondence, and other factual materials for the task.
- Formatting rubric
- MPT scoring evaluates legal analysis, factual application, organization, citation, tone, grammar, and compliance with task memo instructions.
- Drafting contract provision
- Drafting task requires consistent defined terms, allocation of risks, and contingencies drawn from file facts and library law.