Patt V. Donner

The Patt v. Donner case file is intended to help civil procedure students put the course in context as they study, by requiring them to follow, and help draft the pleadings, as a simulated case unfolds from the first day of the semester to the last. Paula Patt, a newly arrived graduate student at UC Berkeley has been denied an apartment; she suspects it's because she's a single mother. Over the course of the semester students participate in drafting her complaint and seeking a TRO; switch sides to help complete motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim, lack of personal jurisdiction, and lack of subject matter jurisdiction; switch back to amend the complaint and move for discovery sanctions; and conclude the term with jury voir dire and a settlement negotiation.