Shucks. I spent all that time during the last week writing the final exam for my Civil Procedure class, which was given to the students at 8:30 a.m. this morning. And then, one hour later, the Ninth Circuit publishes a single opinion for the day: this one. Which, had they published it on Friday, would have saved me a ton of time. Since it's a great final examination in its own right, and concerns whether, in an action arising under federal law in which a federal court borrows the state statute of limitations, the court also borrows the state's time period for service of process as well.
Erie. Rules 3 and 4(m). Federal common law. All the good stuff. It would have been an excellent exam.
To make things even more interesting, it's an exam that Chief Judge Lasnik (up in the Western District of Washington) flunked. But Judge Rymer sets him right. And writes an opinion that gets an A.
