What must occur for a court to have jurisdiction over a permissive counterclaim?

For a court to have jurisdiction over a permissive counterclaim, it is essential that the counterclaim has an independent basis for subject matter jurisdiction. This means that the counterclaim must arise under a separate statutory authority that grants the court the right to hear that claim.

Permissive counterclaims are those that do not arise from the same transaction or occurrence as the original claim made by the plaintiff. Because they are separate claims, they require an independent ground for subject matter jurisdiction, such as diversity jurisdiction (where parties are from different states and the amount in controversy exceeds a specific threshold) or federal question jurisdiction (where the case involves a federal issue).

In contrast, mandatory counterclaims are related to the original claim and may not require an independent basis for jurisdiction if they arise from the same transaction or occurrence, thus allowing the court to assert jurisdiction based on the associated claim. Other factors like the number of plaintiffs or the timing of assertion do not fundamentally affect the requirement for independent subject matter jurisdiction for permissive counterclaims.