Legal Definitions - aggregation doctrine

The aggregation doctrine is a rule that prevents a party from combining multiple claims in order to meet the minimum amount required for federal diversity jurisdiction. This means that if a party has several claims that individually do not meet the minimum amount, they cannot add them together to reach the required amount.

For example, if a plaintiff has two claims against a defendant, one for $20,000 and one for $15,000, they cannot combine them to meet the $75,000 minimum for federal diversity jurisdiction. The claims must be considered separately.

This rule is in place to prevent parties from manipulating the system and artificially creating diversity jurisdiction. It ensures that cases are heard in the appropriate court and that the jurisdictional requirements are met fairly and honestly.