Choice of Law and Erie Flashcards
What is conflict of laws?
Body of law that governs the appropriate choice of law in cases where the law of more than one state or jurisdiction may be implicated.
What is choice of law?
whether state or federal law should apply in diversity cases (always related to substantive law)
What is horizontal choice of law?
Choosing between the forum state’s law and that of a co-equal jurisdiction. Classic choice of law rule
What is vertical choice of law?
Choosing between the forum state’s law and federal law in diversity cases
Historically, what classic choice of law rule applied?
Lex locus delicti, law of the place of the wrong, applying the law of the place where the injury occurred
What is false conflict?
if the dispute touches more than one jurisdiction, but the laws in both jurisdictions are the same, there is a false conflict and the forum law controls
What is a choice of law clause?
A contract clause in which the parties specify that any dispute arising out of the contract must be determined according to the law of a particular jurisdiction
What is the order of choice of law rules?
1) Statutes designating an applicable law control unless they violate the U.S. Constitution 2) Choice of law clauses govern if there’s no statute and the clause doesn’t violate forum public policy or the Constitution, and 3)
If there’s no pertinent statute and no choice of law clause in a contract, the court
will use the forum’s choice of law rule
What is Texas’ choice of law rule?
The 7 factor most significant relationship test
What are the factors in the most significant relationship test?
(a) the needs of the interstate and international systems,
(b) the relevant policies of the forum,
(c) the relevant policies of other interested states and the relative interests of those states in the
determination of the particular issue,
(d) the protection of justified expectations,
(e) the basic policies underlying the particular field of law,
(f) certainty, predictability and uniformity of result, and
(g) ease in the determination and application of the law to be applied
What is the rules of decision act?
An act that required federal courts to apply the law of the several states for substantive matters unless Congress stated otherwise
Under the rules of decision act, what laws did federal courts apply for local and non local matters?
Local- the law of the state in which the federal court is located
Non local- general common law
What is general common law?
Instead of being a compilation of cases and precedents, it was a holistic body of law based on logic, right and reason, available
to any learned person who considered the facts of a case against precedent
What case authorized general common law?
Swift v Tyson
What was the Swift v. Tyson rule?
iversity cases in federal court used a nationwide
“general common law” unless the local state had its own statute or special custom on the issue
What is federalism
The constitutional concept that certain governmental functions should be the responsibility of the individual states and certain functions should be the responsibility of the federal government.
What case overturned Swift v. Tyson?
Erie v. Tompkins
What did Erie v. Tompkins say?
In diversity cases, the federal court applies the local state’s laws including the choice of law clause in the state in which it sits
What test did Gauranty v. York create?
The outcome determinative test- If there a conflict in a diversity case with an outcome determinate factor, we treat that as substantive law, so state law wins
What test came from Byrd?
The byrd balancing test, which balances state and federal interests to determine whether the state substantive law or procedural federal law should apply. If a conflict is outcome determinitive this does not automatically mean that state law trumps
What is the rules enabling act?
a federal rule that is on point (intended to do that) will apply in federal court unless it abridges, enlarge, or modifies a substantive right
Congress gives the Supreme court the power to draft a code (rules of federal procedure) just as long as it doesn’t what?
mess with substantive law
What two steps did Hanna v. Plummer make?
1) If it is a federal rule on point, apply the rules enabling act
2) For all other cases, apply the byrd balancing test
When are the twin aims of Erie?
1) To discourage forum shopping
2) Avoid inequitable administration of the laws