Jon Wayne is a mechanic who repaired a car owned by Lorena. Jon Wayne, his brother Bruce and Lorena were passengers in Lorena's car on. January 2, 1991, when it was being driven by her friend Roxy. A bus being driven at almost fifty miles an hour stopped suddenly in front of Lorena's car when the bus driver, Keanu, learned that a bomb had been placed on the bus as a promotional stunt for the release of a new action movie.
 

Lorena's car did not stop fast enough and the car crashed into the back of the bus. Twenty people on the bus were injured with varying degrees of severity. Jon Wayne lost one of his appendages and Bruce Wayne suffered a blow to the head that caused him to believe he was a species of crime fighting bat. Lorena and Roxy also sustained physical injury, but Lorena's car was destroyed and she has refused to pay the $2000 repair bill from Jon Wayne. Roxy has also refused to pay an outstanding repair bill for $1000 for repair work performed on her car by Jon Wayne.
 

Both the driver and the bus company are covered by the same insurance carrier, Cut & Run Insurance for a total of $100,000. Passengers on the bus are residents of 20 different states. Both the bus company and the driver are residents of the State of Confusion, Jon Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Lorena and Roxy are all residents of the State of Anxiety which is where the accident occurred.
 

Hugh Lewis Dewey, an attorney for Lorena filed the following complaint in Federal District Court of Anxiety on January 1, 1993, one day before the statute of limitations expired in Anxiety which conformed with state procedure. It was served on The Bus Company on February 1, 1993.
 

Lorena,
 

Plaintiff
 

VS.
 

The Bus Company

Defendants
 

COMPLAINT
 

    1. This is a complaint in common law negligence arising from acts of defendant which occurred in the State of Anxiety in violation of the laws of that jurisdiction when engaged in interstate commerce.
 

    2. On January 2, 1991 on a public road somewhere in the town of High, Anxiety, defendant Keanu, negligently drove a bus into a vehicle in which plaintiff was a passenger.
 

    3. At the time of the aforementioned collision, and at all times relevant thereto, defendant, Keanu, was employed by the Bus Company which owned the bus, and operated it in interstate commerce.
 

    4. As a result, plaintiff suffered numerous injuries and was subjected to pain and suffering and the loss of business income.
 

    5. Wherefore, plaintiff demands that the defendants pay damages in excess of $50,000.
 

Signed,
 

Dewey, Cheatham and Howe

Attorneys for Plaintiff
 

On February 19, 1993, Bus Company filed a response to the complaint that was characterized as an "Answer and Counter-claim" which stated in pertinent part:
 

    1. Defendant Bus Company denies all liability alleged in paragraphs 3 and 4.

    2. Plaintiff is liable to defendant for contributory negligence in driving the vehicle in question.
 

The following questions are based upon the foregoing facts and upon the assumptions set forth in the questions. Decide whether the trial court rulings are correct or not, and briefly explain your answer, citing the appropriate Rule or statute.

(no more than 2 or 3 paragraphs).
 

P.S. You already know far more than I can test you on in two hours. I realize that it may be difficult to complete the exam in such a short time. Please remember that everyone is operating under the same time handicap and that, in the practice of law, no one will ever ask you to sort out these questions in two hours without the use of research materials. Please treat this as a learning experience. Do the best you can, then forget Civil Procedure and enjoy the Holidays.
 

Was the trial court correct in deciding:
 

        (A) That the plaintiff could amend the original complaint on February 17,1993 to add a claim for property damage without leave of court.

        (B) That, on the same date, the plaintiff could not amend the original complaint to add Keanu because the statute of limitations had passed with respect to Keanu.

        (C) That the complaint should not be dismissed pursuant to 12(b)(6) and Rule 8(a).

        (D) That the complaint should be dismissed under 12(b)(1) and that the plaintiff should not be permitted to amend paragraph 1 of the complaint.
 

    2. Assuming that the case was not dismissed but that the Plaintiff WAS precluded from joining Keanu as a defendant, did the trial court correctly decide the following.

        (A) That the Bus Company could bring Keanu into the suit as a third party defendant.

        (B) That Roxy could not intervene because she did not own the car that was the subject of the original damage claim.

        (C) That The Bus Company could not bring a third party action against Cut & Run Insurance.

        (D) That Cut & Run could place the $100,000 in trust with the Court to prevent having to spend $2,500,000 defending Bus Company from multiple claims.
 

    3. Assume that Jon, Bruce and Roxy ARE permitted to intervene as plaintiffs. Did the trial court correctly decide the following:

        (A) That Jon Wayne could file a cross claim against Roxy for damages arising from the accident and for the unpaid balance on her account.

        (B) That Lorena could file a cross claim against Jon for damages arising from the accident alleging negligent repair and that he could not cross claim for the unpaid bill.

        (C) That Roxy could not file a cross claim against Jon Wayne for damages arising from the accident because she did not own the car.

        (D) That Bus Company could file a counter claim against Jon Wayne?
 

    4. Assume that Jon, Bruce, Roxy and Lorena are all plaintiffs and that Keanu and Bus Company are defendants. Is the trial court correct in deciding:

        (A) That a single bus passenger in this accident may not represent all of the other passengers in a class action for damages for their injuries under Rule 23.

        (B) That each passenger must bring a separate cause of action against the Bus Company and may not join as plaintiffs because each has different injuries and is from different states.

        (C) That a single passenger in this accident may bring a class action on behalf of all passengers to prevent The Bus Company from using a certain model of bus.

        (D) That the class of bus passengers certified by the court in (C) must be notified by actual notice sent of all customers who can be identified through credit card records and that all passengers would then be bound by the outcome.
 

    5. Assume that after the parties had been realigned the case went to trial. Is the trial court correct in deciding:

        (A) The Bus Company may introduce evidence for the first time that Keanu was not an employee but was an independent contractor who had recently purchased the route in question and assumed all liability.

        (B) That the plaintiffs may not amend their complaint during trial to substitute Keanu as the defendant in place of the Bus Company, once it became known that Keanu was an independent.

        (C) That Lorena may introduce evidence that Jon Wayne fraudulently misrepresented the extent of the repairs and substantially over-billed her for his services.
 

That Civil Procedure is a very difficult course to grasp in the first semester of law school and that it is not fair to ask questions about a system that most law students have never actually seen in operation. (Of course, everyone knows the answer to this one, even the trial court judge, and the professor).