PEACOCK v. THOMAS
No. 94-1453.
Argued November 6, 1995
Decided February 21, 1996
Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Stevens, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 360.
David L. Freeman argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were J. Theodore Gentry, Carter G. Phillips, and Richard D. Bernstein.
J. Kendall New argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were John C. Few, Margaret A. Chamberlain, and James R. Gilreath.
Richard P. Bress argued the cause for the United States as Amicus Curiae in support of respondent. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Days, Deputy Solicitor General Kneedler, Thomas S. Williamson, Jr., Allen H. Feldman, Nathaniel I. Spiller, and Edward D. Sieger.
Robert P. Davis and Kenneth S. Getter filed a brief for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers as amicus curiae urging reversal.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Association of Retired Persons et al. by Steven S. Zaleznick, Mary Ellen Signorille, Jeffrey Lewis, and Ronald Dean; for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations by Virginia A. Seitz, David M. Silberman, and Laurence Gold; for the Bricklayers & Trowel Trades International Pension Fund by Ira R. Mitzner and Woody N. Peterson; for the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare and Pension Fund by Thomas C. Nyhan, Terrence C. Craig, and James P. Condon; and for the National Coordinating Committee for Multi-employer Plans by Diana L. S. Peters.
Justice Thomas
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents the issue whether federal courts possess ancillary jurisdiction over new actions in which a federal judgment creditor seeks to impose liability for a money judgment on a person not otherwise liable for the judgment. We hold that they do not.
I
Respondent Jack L. Thomas is a former employee of TruTech, Inc. In 1987, Thomas filed an ERISA class action in federal court against Tru-Tech and petitioner D. Grant Peacock, an officer and shareholder of Tru-Tech, for benefits due under the corporation’s pension benefits plan. Thomas alleged primarily that Tru-Tech and Peacock breached their fiduciary duties to the class in administering the plan. The District Court found that Tru-Tech had breached its fiduciary duties, but ruled that Peacock was not a fiduciary. On November 28, 1988, the District Court entered judgment in the amount of $187,628.93 against Tru-Tech only. Thomas v. Tru-Tech, Inc., No. 87-2243-3 (D. S. C.). On April 3, 1990, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed. Judgt. order reported at 900 F. 2d 256. Thomas did not execute the judgment while the ease was on appeal and, during that time, Peacock settled many of Tru-Tech’s accounts with favored creditors, including himself.
After the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment, Thomas unsuccessfully attempted to collect the judgment from Tru-Tech. Thomas then sued Peacock in federal court, claiming that Peacock had entered into a civil conspiracy to siphon assets from Tru-Tech to prevent satisfaction of the ERISA judgment. Thomas also claimed that Peacock fraudulently conveyed Tru-Tech’s assets in violation of South Carolina and Pennsylvania law. Thomas later amended his complaint to assert a claim for “Piercing the Corporate Veil Under ERISA and Applicable Federal Law.” App. 49. The District Court ultimately agreed to pierce the corporate veil and entered judgment against Peacock in the amount of $187,628.93 — the precise amount of the judgment against Tru-Tech — plus interest and fees, notwithstanding the fact that Peacock’s alleged fraudulent transfers totaled no more than $80,000. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the District Court properly exercised ancillary jurisdiction over Thomas’ suit. 39 F. 3d 493 (CA4 1994). We granted certiorari to determine whether the District Court had subject-matter jurisdiction and to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals. 514 U. S. 1126 (1995). We now reverse.
II
Thomas relies on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 832, as amended, 29 U. S. C. § 1001 et seq., as the source of federal jurisdiction for this suit. The District Court did not expressly rule on subject-matter jurisdiction, but found that Thomas had properly stated a claim under ERISA for piercing the corporate veil. We disagree. We are not aware of, and Thomas does not point to, any provision of ERISA that provides for imposing liability for an extant ERISA judgment against a third party. See Mackey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc., 486 U. S. 825, 833 (1988) (“ERISA does not provide an enforcement mechanism for collecting judgments . . .”).
We reject Thomas’ suggestion, not made in the District Court, that this subsequent suit arose under § 502(a)(3) of ERISA, which authorizes civil actions for “appropriate equitable relief” to redress violations of ERISA or the terms of an ERISA plan. 29 U. S. C. § 1132(a)(3). Thomas’ complaint in this lawsuit alleged no violation of ERISA or of the plan. The wrongdoing alleged in the complaint occurred in 1989 and 1990, some four to five years after Tru-Tech’s ERISA plan was terminated, and Tilomas did not — indeed, could not — allege that Peacock was a fiduciary to the terminated plan. Thomas further concedes that Peacock’s alleged wrongdoing “did not occur with respect to the administration or operation of the plan.” Brief for Respondent 11. Under the circumstances, we think Thomas failed to allege a claim under § 502(a)(3) for equitable relief. Section 502(a)(3) “does not, after all, authorize ‘appropriate equitable relief’ at large, but only ‘appropriate equitable relief’ for the purpose of ‘redressing any] violations or . . . enforcing] any provisions’ of ERISA or an ERISA plan.” Mertens v. Hewitt Associates, 508 U. S. 248, 253 (1993) (emphasis and modifications in original).
Moreover, Thomas’ veil-piercing claim does not state a cause of action under ERISA and cannot independently support federal jurisdiction. Even if ERISA permits a plaintiff to pierce the corporate veil to reach a defendant not otherwise subject to suit under ERISA, Thomas could invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts only by independently alleging a violation of an ERISA provision or term of the plan. Piercing the corporate veil is not itself an independent ERISA cause of action, “but rather is a means of imposing liability on an underlying cause of action.” 1 C. Keating & G. O’Gradney, Fletcher Cyclopedia of Law of Private Corporations §41, p. 603 (perm. ed. 1990). Because Thomas alleged no “underlying” violation of any provision of ERISA or an ERISA plan, neither ERISA’s jurisdictional provision, 29 U. S. C. § 1132(e)(1), nor 28 U. S. C. § 1331 supplied the District Court with subject-matter jurisdiction over this suit.
Ill
Thomas also contends that this lawsuit is ancillary to the original ERISA suit. We have recognized that a federal court may exercise ancillary jurisdiction “(1) to permit disposition by a single court of claims that are, in varying respects and degrees, factually interdependent; and (2) to enable a court to function successfully, that is, to manage its proceedings, vindicate its authority, and effectuate its decrees.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co., 511 U. S. 375, 379-380 (1994) (citations omitted). Thomas has not carried his burden of demonstrating that this suit falls within either category. See id., at 377 (burden rests on party asserting jurisdiction).
A
“[Ajncillary jurisdiction typically involves claims by a defending party haled into court against his will, or by another person whose rights might be irretrievably lost unless he could assert them in an ongoing action in a federal court.” Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger, 437 U. S. 365, 376 (1978). Ancillary jurisdiction may extend to claims having a factual and logical dependence on “the primary lawsuit,” ibid., but that primary lawsuit must contain an independent basis for federal jurisdiction. The court must have jurisdiction over a ease or controversy before it may assert jurisdiction over ancillary claims. See Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U. S. 715, 725 (1966). In a subsequent lawsuit involving claims with no independent basis for jurisdiction, a federal court lacks the threshold jurisdictional power that exists when ancillary claims are asserted in the same proceeding as the claims conferring federal jurisdiction. See Kokkonen, supra, at 380-381; H. C. Cook Co. v. Beecher, 217 U. S. 497, 498-499 (1910). Consequently, claims alleged to be factually interdependent with and, hence, ancillary to claims brought in an earlier federal lawsuit will not support federal jurisdiction over a subsequent lawsuit. The basis of the doctrine of ancillary jurisdiction is the practical need “to protect legal rights or effectively to resolve an entire, logically entwined lawsuit.” Kroger, 437 U. S., at 377. But once judgment was entered in the original ERISA suit, the ability to resolve simultaneously factually intertwined issues vanished. As in Kroger, “neither the convenience of litigants nor considerations of judicial economy” can justify the extension of ancillary jurisdiction over Thomas’ claims in this subsequent proceeding. Ibid.
In any event, there is insufficient factual dependence between the claims raised in Thomas’ first and second suits to justify the extension of ancillary jurisdiction. Thomas’ factual allegations in this suit are independent from those asserted in the ERISA suit, which involved Peacock’s and Tru-Tech’s status as plan fiduciaries and their alleged wrongdoing in the administration of the plan. The facts relevant to this complaint are limited to allegations that Peacock shielded Tru-Tech’s assets from the ERISA judgment long after Tru-Tech’s plan had been terminated. The claims in these cases have little or no factual or logical interdependence, and, under these circumstances, no greater efficiencies would be created by the exercise of federal jurisdiction over them. See Kokkonen, supra, at 380.
B
The focus of Thomas’ argument is that his suit to extend liability for payment of the ERISA judgment from Tru-Tech to Peacock fell under the District Court’s ancillary enforcement jurisdiction. We have reserved the use of ancillary jurisdiction in subsequent proceedings for the exercise of a federal court’s inherent power to enforce its judgments. Without jurisdiction to enforce a judgment entered by a federal court, “the judicial power would be incomplete and entirely inadequate to the purposes for which it was conferred by the Constitution.” Riggs v. Johnson County, 6 Wall. 166, 187 (1868). In defining that power, we have approved the exercise of ancillary jurisdiction over a broad range of supplementary proceedings involving third parties to assist in the protection and enforcement of federal judgments— including attachment, mandamus, garnishment, and the prejudgment avoidance of fraudulent conveyances. See, e.g., Mackey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc., 486 U. S., at 834, n. 10 (garnishment); Swift & Co. Packers v. Compania Colombiana Del Caribe, S. A., 339 U. S. 684, 690-692 (1950) (prejudgment attachment of property); Dewey v. West Fairmont Gas Coal Co., 123 U. S. 329, 332-333 (1887) (prejudgment voidance of fraudulent transfers); Labette County Comm’rs v. United States ex rel. Moulton, 112 U. S. 217, 221-225 (1884) (mandamus to compel public officials in their official capacity to levy tax to enforce judgment against township); Krippendorf v. Hyde, 110 U. S. 276, 282-285 (1884) (prejudgment dispute over attached property); Riggs, supra, at 187-188 (mandamus to compel public officials in their official capacity to levy tax to enforce judgment against county).
Our recognition of these supplementary proceedings has not, however, extended beyond attempts to execute, or to guarantee eventual executability of, a federal judgment. We have never authorized the exercise of ancillary jurisdiction in a subsequent lawsuit to impose an obligation to pay an existing federal judgment on a person not already liable for that judgment. Indeed, we rejected an attempt to do so in H. C. Cook Co. v. Beecher, 217 U. S. 497 (1910). In Beecher, the plaintiff obtained a judgment in federal court against a corporation that had infringed its patent. When the plaintiff could not collect on the judgment, it sued the individual directors of the defendant corporation, alleging that, during the pendency of the original suit, they had authorized continuing sales of the infringing product and knowingly permitted the corporation to become insolvent. We agreed with the Circuit Court’s characterization of the suit as “an attempt to make the defendants answerable for the judgment already obtained” and affirmed the court’s decision that the suit was not “ancillary to the judgment in the former suit.” Id., at 498-499. Beecher governs this case and persuades us that Thomas’ attempt to make Peacock answerable for the ERISA judgment is not ancillary to that judgment.
Labette County Comm’rs and Riggs are not to the contrary. In those cases, we permitted a judgment creditor to mandamus county officials to force them to levy a tax for payment of an existing judgment. Labette County Comm’rs, supra, at 221-225; Riggs, supra, at 187-188. The order in each case merely required compliance with the existing judgment by the persons with authority to comply. We did not authorize the shifting of liability for payment of the judgment from the judgment debtor to the county officials, as Thomas attempts to do here.
In determining the reach of the federal courts’ ancillary jurisdiction, we have cautioned against the exercise of jurisdiction over proceedings that are “ ‘entirely new and original,”’ Krippendorf v. Hyde, supra, at 285 (quoting Minnesota Co. v. St. Paul Co., 2 Wall. 609, 633 (1865)), or where “the relief [sought is] of a different kind or on a different principle” than that of the prior decree. Dugas v. American Surety Co., 300 U. S. 414, 428 (1937). These principles suggest that ancillary jurisdiction could not properly be exercised in this case. This action is founded not only upon different facts than the ERISA suit, but also upon entirely new theories of liability. In this suit, Thomas alleged civil conspiracy and fraudulent transfer of Tru-Tech’s assets, but, as we have noted, no substantive ERISA violation. The alleged wrongdoing in this case occurred after the ERISA judgment was entered, and Thomas’ claims — civil conspiracy, fraudulent conveyance, and “veil piercing” — all involved new theories of liability not asserted in the ERISA suit. Other than the existence of the ERISA judgment itself, this suit has little connection to the ERISA case. This is a new action based on theories of relief that did not exist, and could not have existed, at the time the court entered judgment in the ERISA case.
Ancillary enforcement jurisdiction is, at its core, a creature of necessity. See Kokkonen, 511 U. S., at 380; Riggs, 6 Wall., at 187. When a party has obtained a valid federal judgment, only extraordinary circumstances, if any, can justify ancillary jurisdiction over a subsequent suit like this. To protect and aid the collection of a federal judgment, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide fast and effective mechanisms for execution. In the event a stay is entered pending appeal, the Rules require the district court to ensure that the judgment creditor’s position is secured, ordinarily by a supersedeas bond. The Rules cannot guarantee payment of every federal judgment. But as long as they protect a judgment creditor’s ability to execute on a judgment, the district court’s authority is adequately preserved, and ancillary jurisdiction is not justified over a new lawsuit to impose liability for a judgment on a third party. Contrary to Thomas’ suggestion otherwise, we think these procedural safeguards are sufficient to prevent wholesale fraud upon the district courts of the United States.
IV
For these reasons, we hold that the District Court lacked jurisdiction over Thomas’ subsequent suit. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Reversed.
Peacock’s attorney was also named as a defendant in the suit, but the District Court rejected the claim against him.
Compare 39 F. 3d 493 (CA4 1994) (case below), Argento v. Melrose Park, 838 F. 2d 1483 (CA71988), Skevofilax v. Quigley, 810 F. 2d 378 (CA3) (en banc), cert. denied, 481 U. S. 1029 (1987), and Blackburn Truck Lines, Inc. v. Francis, 723 F. 2d 730 (CA9 1984), with Sandlin v. Corporate Interiors Inc., 972 F. 2d 1212 (CA10 1992), and Berry v. McLemore, 795 F. 2d 452 (CA5 1986).
The District Court in the original ERISA suit ruled that Peacock was not a fiduciary to Tru-Tech’s plan.
This case is not at all like Anderson v. Abbott, 321 U. S. 349 (1944), cited by Thomas’ amici, in which the receiver of a federal bank, having obtained a judgment against the bank, then sued the bank’s shareholders to hold them liable for the judgment. In Anderson, federal jurisdiction was founded upon a federal law, 12 U. S. C. §§63, 64 (repealed), which specifically made shareholders of an undercapitalized federal bank liable up to the par value of their stock, regardless of the amount actually invested.
Congress codified much of the common-law doctrine of ancillary jurisdiction as part of “supplemental jurisdiction” in 28 U. S. C. § 1367.
The United States, as amicus curiae for Thomas, suggests that the proceeding below was jurisdietionally indistinguishable from Swift & Co. Packers v. Compania Colombiana Del Caribe, S. A., 339 U. S. 684 (1950), Dewey v. West Fairmont Gas Coal Co., 123 U. S. 329 (1887), Labette County Comm’rs v. United States ex rel. Moulton, 112 U. S. 217 (1884), and Riggs v. Johnson County, 6 Wall. 166 (1868), because it was intended merely as a supplemental bill to preserve and force payment of the ERISA judgment by voiding fraudulent transfers of Tru-Tech’s assets. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 9-18. We decline to address this argument, because, even if Thomas could have sought to force payment by mandamus or to void postjudgment transfers, neither Thomas nor the courts below characterized this suit that way. Indeed, Thomas expressly rejects that characterization of his lawsuit. Brief for Respondent 4 (“This action ... is not one to collect a judgment, but one to establish liability on the part of the Petitioner”) (emphasis in original); see id., at 11. In any event, the United States agrees that the alleged fraudulent transfers totaled no more than $80,000, far less than the judgment actually imposed on Peacock. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 3.
Rule 69(a), for instance, permits judgment creditors to use any execution method consistent with the practice and procedure of the State in which the district court sits. Rule 62(a) further protects judgment creditors by permitting execution on a judgment at any time more than 10 days after the judgment is entered.
The district court may only stay execution of the judgment pending the disposition of certain post-trial motions or appeal if the court provides for the security of the judgment creditor. Rule 62(b) (stay pending post-trial motions “on such conditions for the security of the adverse party as are proper”); Rule 62(d) (stay pending appeal “by giving a supersedeas bond”).
U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals U.S. Court of International Trade U.S. Court of Claims, Court of Federal Claims U.S. Court of Military Appeals, renamed as Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces U.S. Court of Military Review U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals U.S. Customs Court U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit U.S. Tax Court Temporary Emergency U.S. Court of Appeals U.S. Court for China U.S. Consular Courts U.S. Commerce Court Territorial Supreme Court Territorial Appellate Court Territorial Trial Court Emergency Court of Appeals Supreme Court of the District of Columbia Bankruptcy Court U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (includes the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia but not the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which has local jurisdiction) Alabama Middle U.S. District Court Alabama Northern U.S. District Court Alabama Southern U.S. District Court Alaska U.S. District Court Arizona U.S. District Court Arkansas Eastern U.S. District Court Arkansas Western U.S. District Court California Central U.S. District Court California Eastern U.S. District Court California Northern U.S. District Court California Southern U.S. District Court Colorado U.S. District Court Connecticut U.S. District Court Delaware U.S. District Court District Of Columbia U.S. District Court Florida Middle U.S. District Court Florida Northern U.S. District Court Florida Southern U.S. District Court Georgia Middle U.S. District Court Georgia Northern U.S. District Court Georgia Southern U.S. District Court Guam U.S. District Court Hawaii U.S. District Court Idaho U.S. District Court Illinois Central U.S. District Court Illinois Northern U.S. District Court Illinois Southern U.S. District Court Indiana Northern U.S. District Court Indiana Southern U.S. District Court Iowa Northern U.S. District Court Iowa Southern U.S. District Court Kansas U.S. District Court Kentucky Eastern U.S. District Court Kentucky Western U.S. District Court Louisiana Eastern U.S. District Court Louisiana Middle U.S. District Court Louisiana Western U.S. District Court Maine U.S. District Court Maryland U.S. District Court Massachusetts U.S. District Court Michigan Eastern U.S. District Court Michigan Western U.S. District Court Minnesota U.S. District Court Mississippi Northern U.S. District Court Mississippi Southern U.S. District Court Missouri Eastern U.S. District Court Missouri Western U.S. District Court Montana U.S. District Court Nebraska U.S. District Court Nevada U.S. District Court New Hampshire U.S. District Court New Jersey U.S. District Court New Mexico U.S. District Court New York Eastern U.S. District Court New York Northern U.S. District Court New York Southern U.S. District Court New York Western U.S. District Court North Carolina Eastern U.S. District Court North Carolina Middle U.S. District Court North Carolina Western U.S. District Court North Dakota U.S. District Court Northern Mariana Islands U.S. District Court Ohio Northern U.S. District Court Ohio Southern U.S. District Court Oklahoma Eastern U.S. District Court Oklahoma Northern U.S. District Court Oklahoma Western U.S. District Court Oregon U.S. District Court Pennsylvania Eastern U.S. District Court Pennsylvania Middle U.S. District Court Pennsylvania Western U.S. District Court Puerto Rico U.S. District Court Rhode Island U.S. District Court South Carolina U.S. District Court South Dakota U.S. District Court Tennessee Eastern U.S. District Court Tennessee Middle U.S. District Court Tennessee Western U.S. District Court Texas Eastern U.S. District Court Texas Northern U.S. District Court Texas Southern U.S. District Court Texas Western U.S. District Court Utah U.S. District Court Vermont U.S. District Court Virgin Islands U.S. District Court Virginia Eastern U.S. District Court Virginia Western U.S. District Court Washington Eastern U.S. District Court Washington Western U.S. District Court West Virginia Northern U.S. District Court West Virginia Southern U.S. District Court Wisconsin Eastern U.S. District Court Wisconsin Western U.S. District Court Wyoming U.S. District Court Louisiana U.S. District Court Washington U.S. District Court West Virginia U.S. District Court Illinois Eastern U.S. District Court South Carolina Eastern U.S. District Court South Carolina Western U.S. District Court Alabama U.S. District Court U.S. District Court for the Canal Zone Georgia U.S. District Court Illinois U.S. District Court Indiana U.S. District Court Iowa U.S. District Court Michigan U.S. District Court Mississippi U.S. District Court Missouri U.S. District Court New Jersey Eastern U.S. District Court (East Jersey U.S. District Court) New Jersey Western U.S. District Court (West Jersey U.S. District Court) New York U.S. District Court North Carolina U.S. District Court Ohio U.S. District Court Pennsylvania U.S. District Court Tennessee U.S. District Court Texas U.S. District Court Virginia U.S. District Court Norfolk U.S. District Court Wisconsin U.S. District Court Kentucky U.S. Distrcrict Court New Jersey U.S. District Court California U.S. District Court Florida U.S. District Court Arkansas U.S. District Court District of Orleans U.S. District Court State Supreme Court State Appellate Court State Trial Court Eastern Circuit (of the United States) Middle Circuit (of the United States) Southern Circuit (of the United States) Alabama U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Alabama Arkansas U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Arkansas California U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of California Connecticut U.S. Circuit for the District of Connecticut Delaware U.S. Circuit for the District of Delaware Florida U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Florida Georgia U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Georgia Illinois U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Illinois Indiana U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Indiana Iowa U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Iowa Kansas U.S. Circuit for the District of Kansas Kentucky U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Kentucky Louisiana U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Louisiana Maine U.S. Circuit for the District of Maine Maryland U.S. Circuit for the District of Maryland Massachusetts U.S. Circuit for the District of Massachusetts Michigan U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Michigan Minnesota U.S. Circuit for the District of Minnesota Mississippi U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Mississippi Missouri U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Missouri Nevada U.S. Circuit for the District of Nevada New Hampshire U.S. Circuit for the District of New Hampshire New Jersey U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of New Jersey New York U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of New York North Carolina U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of North Carolina Ohio U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Ohio Oregon U.S. Circuit for the District of Oregon Pennsylvania U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Pennsylvania Rhode Island U.S. Circuit for the District of Rhode Island South Carolina U.S. Circuit for the District of South Carolina Tennessee U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Tennessee Texas U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Texas Vermont U.S. Circuit for the District of Vermont Virginia U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Virginia West Virginia U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of West Virginia Wisconsin U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Wisconsin Wyoming U.S. Circuit for the District of Wyoming Circuit Court of the District of Columbia Nebraska U.S. Circuit for the District of Nebraska Colorado U.S. Circuit for the District of Colorado Washington U.S. Circuit for (all) District(s) of Washington Idaho U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Idaho Montana U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Montana Utah U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Utah South Dakota U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of South Dakota North Dakota U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of North Dakota Oklahoma U.S. Circuit Court for (all) District(s) of Oklahoma Court of Private Land Claims