Choice Of Law Flashcards
Conflict of law fact patterns
Include connections to multiple states
- Recognition of judgments, and
- Choice of law
Recognition of judgments
Looking for two conditions
- Judgment by court in rendering jurisdiction, and
- Party wants judgment recognized by court in recognizing jurisdiction
FFCC
Under FFCC, state court judgment must be recognized and enforced in other states
Two-part flow chart
- Was rendering jurisdiction sister state or foreign comity
- Is judgment entitled to FFCC or comity
If sister-state, are FFCC reqs met and any valid defenses?
If foreign, is there comity?
Reqs of FFCC
- Jurisdiction
- On the merits
- Finality
Look to law of rendering state to see if satisfied
Jurisdiction
Rendering state must have jx over parties and subject matter
Exception: cannot challenge if fully and fairly litigated (i.e., if PJ waived = fully and fairly)
Merits
Judgment rendered by original state must have been on merits
Examples of not on merits
Statute of limitations, lack of jx, misjoinder, improper venue, failure to state a claim unless dismissed w/ prejudice
If after settlement = on merits
Finality
Judgment entered by rendering court must be final and most common application is judgment on appeal in rendering jx is not final
If modifiable then not final
Defenses to FFCC
Penal judgment (offenses against public so p = state), or judgments based on extrinsic fraud (those that cannot be corrected in proceedings)
Invalid defenses
Public policy or misapplication of other state’s law by rendering court
Foreign judgments
If rendering court is foreign, then source of obligation is comity or treating and recognizing court will exercise jx
Choice of law fact patterns
- Lawsuit involves factual connections with multiple states, and
- States have different laws leading to different results
Choice of law approaches
Vested rights approach of 1st Restatement
Most significant relationship of 2nd Restatement
Governmental interest approach
Exceptions to CoL
Diversity cases filed in fed court: CoL approach of state in which it sits
Transferred diversity: fed court choice of law of original court when venue proper to begin with
Restrictions on CoL
Constitution: only imposes limit of having significant contact and/or legitimate interest in litigation
Statutory: if forum has statute that directs CoL then forum court should apply statute
Vested rights
Court will apply law of that state mandated by applicable vesting rule and rule is selected according to relevant substantive area of law
Vested rights steps
- Categorize substantive area of law
- State applicable vesting rule
- Determine governing law
- Apply governing law to determine result
Last act of vested rights
Most often, right vests in state where last acr or event occurred that gave rise to rights being asserted in the lawsuit
Most significant relationship
Court will apply law of state which is most significantly related to outcome of litigation and, to determine this, court will look to facts and principles of policy
Most significant steps
- Discuss connecting facts
- Discuss policy principles
- Choose governing law to determine result
Interest approach
Court will consider which states have legitimate interest in outcome of litigation and, if forum court has legitimate interest, will apply own law otherwise will apply another interested state
Interest approach steps
- Which states have legitimate interest
- Categorize type of conflict
- Choose governing law based on conflict type
- Apply
Specific substantive areas
Torts, Ks, property, and family law
Torts
Vesting rights: where injury occurred
Most significant: factual connections of place of injury, place of conduct, where parties at home, and place where relationship is centered along with policy principles of relevant policies
Place of injury is almost always governing law; loss of distribution, though, where parties share domicile
Contracts
Vested rights: if formation, place where K executed; if performance, where performance occurred
Most sig: connect fats like place of contracting, negotiation, performance, and where parties at home
Generally, if negotiation and performance are same, that forum law’s apply
Property
Vested rights: if real, law of situs but if movable, for inter visos then law of situs at time of transaction but for inheritance then law of decedent’s domicile at death
Most sig: law of state most significantly related to property transaction
Family law
Marriage: if valid where performed, recognized everywhere
Divorce: courts will apply own laws
Legitimacy: mother’s domicile at time of child’s birth; subsequent acts of legitimation concerning paternity are governed by law of father’s domicile
CoL provision or FSC
K is enforceable if valid and express
Invalid if (a) law selected has no reasonable relationship to K, or (b) provision included w/o mutual assent
Defenses to CoL
Public policy and procedural rules
Public policy
Forum ct will not apply law that is against its own fundamental public policy UNLESS recognition of judgments at play
Procedural rules
Regardless of whether outcome of CoL analysis, forum ct will apply own procedural rules
Statute of limitation = procedural b/c horizontal, whereas Erie is vertical
