Conflict of Laws Flashcards
Domicile of Individuals
Where the person is physically present with the intent to remain
Domicile of Corporation
State where it is incorporated
The burden of showing a change in domicile is on…
The party that asserts it
State choice-of-law rules generally have 3 sources
- Specific choice-of-law statutes
- Contractual choice-of-law agreements
- General choice-of-law rules governed by forum state common law
Under the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment, the Court has held that a forum state may apply its own law to a particular case only if…
It has significant contact or significant aggregation of contacts with the state such that a choice of its law is neither arbitrary nor fundamentally unfair
The Full Faith and Credit clause requires a forum state to apply the law of another state when the forum state has…
No contacts with or interest in the controversy
Most courts will enforce a contractual choice-of-law provision if it is… (4)
- A valid agreement with an effective choice-of-law clause
- Applicable to the lawsuit under the terms of the contract
- Reasonably related to the lawsuit (i.e. the law to be applied is from a state with connections to the parties or the contract} and
- Not in violation of public policy of the forum state or an interested state
3 approaches to how courts generally approach choice-of-law questions
- Vested rights approach
- Most significant relationship approach
- Governmental interest approach
Vested-Rights Approach
Looks for the location where the last liable event took place
This approach looks to the jurisdiction where the parties’ rights are vested, meaning where the act or relationship that gives rise to the cause of action occurred or was created
Vested-Rights Approach
Most-Significant Relationship Approach
Applies the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the issue in question
Governmental Interest Approach
It is presumed that the forum state will apply its own law, but the parties may request that another state’s law be applied. If a party makes such a request, then that party must identify the policies of competing laws
Under the governmental interest approach, if there is a false conflict (the forums has no interest in the litigation), then
the court applies the law of the state that does have an interest in the case
Under the governmental interest approach, if there is a true conflict (forum state and another state both have an interest in the litigation), then
the forum state will review its own policies to determine which law should apply. If the conflict cannot be resolved, then the law of the forum state is applied
In federal diversity cases, the fed district court is generally required to apply the conflict of laws rules of
the state in which it sits
If a diversity case is transferred under federal venue law from a federal court in one state to a federal court in another state, which state’s choice of law rules will apply?
the first state’s
The Full Faith and Credit Clause does not require a state to apply another’s state’s law in violation of
its own legitimate public policy
Most courts will enforce a contractual choice-of-law provision if it is (4)
- A valid agreement with an effective choice of law doctrine
- Applicable to the lawsuit under the terms of the contract
- Reasonably related to the lawsuit (i.e. the law to be applied is from a state with connections to the parties or the contract) and
- Not in violation of the public policy of the forum state or another interested state
Under the vested-rights approach, a tort case will be governed by the law of the place where…
the wrong was committed. This means the place where the last event necessary to make the actor liable for the tort took place (generally the place where the person or thing that is injured is situated at the time of the wrong)
In a torts case, under the most-significant-relationship approach, the court considers 4 important contacts
- place of injury
- place where conduct causing injury occurred
- domicile, residence, place of incorporation, or place of business of the parties
- place where the relationship was centered
In a torts case, under the governmental-interest approach, the forum state generally looks to
its own law, so long as that state has a legitimate interest in applying its own law
If there is an express choice-of-law provision in the contract, then the law will govern unless (3)
- it is contrary to public policy
- there is no reasonable basis for the parties’ choice
- OR there was a fraud or mistake and true consent was not given
Under the vested rights approach, the law of the place where the contract is executed will apply to the following issues (3)
- Validity of the contract
- Defenses to the formation of the contract
- Interpretation of the contract
Under the vested rights approach, the law of the place where the contract was to be performed will apply to the following issues (4)
- Details of the performance such as time and manner of performance
- The person who is obligated to perform and the person to whom performance is to be made
- Sufficiency of performance
- excuses for nonperformance
Under the most significant relationship approach, the following factors are considered in a contracts case (3)
- location of the contracting, negotiation, and performance
- place where the contract’s subject matter is located
- location of the parties’ domiciles, residences, nationalities, places of incorporation, and places of business
Personal property contracts are controlled by the law of the state…
where the place of delivery is located. (This is a default rule that will apply unless a state is found to have a more significant relationship with regard to the issue)
Land contract are controlled by the law of the state…
of the situs of the land. (This is a default rule that will apply unless a state is found to have a more significant relationship with regard to the issue)
Under the UCC, the law governing the perfection, non perfection, and priority of security interests in tangible and intangible collateral is generally the law of…
The state in which the debtor is located
Questions regarding the validity of the decedent’s will regarding personal property and the transfer of personal property from someone who dies intestate or who has a will are governed by the law of…
the decedent’s domicile at the time of death
Questions regarding the validity of the decedent’s will regarding real property and the transfer of real property from someone who dies intestate or who has a will are governed by the law of…
situs
Questions of law relating to the grounds for divorce are controlled by the law of the…
plaintiff’s domicile in a divorce matter
In determining the enforceability of a premarital agreement, most states apply the law of the state….
with the most significant relationship to the matter at hand. Some states use the state in which the prenup was executed
3 arguments against the application of foreign law
- that the law is procedural rather than substantive
- against public policy
- penal (criminal) law
If the forum state’s law is procedural, then the ____________ law will __________ govern
forum state’s; always
Which state’s law is applied to determine whether a law is substantive or procedural
Forum state’s
Questions about the following matters are generally considered procedural and controlled by the law of the forum state (6)
- proper court in which to bring the action
- sufficiency of the pleadings
- proper or necessary parties to the action
- venue
- rules of discovery
- service of process
Under Erie doctrine, in diversity jurisdiction cases, federal district courts must apply the substantive law of…
the state where the court sits
In a diversity case, if no federal rule applies, then the district court must follow ______ law with regard to substance
state
In a diversity case, if no federal rule applies, then the district court can, under certain circumstances can ________ ____ ________ state procedural law
choose to ignore
In a fed diversity case, if it is unclear whether a given law is substantive or procedural, the court considers whether the failure to apply the state law would….
lead to different outcomes in the state and federal courts. If the answer is yes, then the fed court will generally apply the state law
A state court’s choice of law rules are considered to be substantive/procedural
substantive
Divorce decrees from other states are entitled to full faith and credit as long as the original state had
jurisdiction to issue the decree and the decree is valid in the original state. Decrees have proper jurisdiction if at least one person resides where the decree was issued
Bilateral divorce
Court has personal jurisdiction over both spouses and at least one spouse is domiciled in the state, then the divorce judgment will be a valid bilateral divorce and will be entitled to full faith and credit
Ex Parte Divorce
Plaintiff spouse seeking divorce is domiciled in the forum state, the courts of that state have jurisdiction to dissolve the plaintiff’s marriage. However, the court may not issue a binding order affecting personal rights of the spouses such as property rights, alimony, and child custody unless the other spouse who is not domiciled in the state agrees to the order
Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, the court can make initial custody decisions if it is in the child’s
home state and all other states must give full faith and credit. Other state’s cannot modify these custody decrees unless the original court has no significant connection to the child or parents anymore
