Conflict of Laws

Question 1

Vested Rights Approach (First Restatement)

Answer 1

Traditional approach (territorial approach). Appl law of place where parties’ rights vested i.e. where last event occurred necessary to create last CoA

(1) Characterize area of law
(2) Applicable choice of law rule
- Torts: law of place where wrong (injury) occurred
- K: place where K made or was to be performed
- Procedure: law of forum
(3) Applly rule to identify state whose law governs issue

Question 2

Interest Analysis

Answer 2

Government interest approach. Assume forum will apply its own law but at request of party will examine policies to determine which law should apply

(1) ID policies underlying conflicting laws (does state have legit interest)
(2) ID state interests: would each law’s application in case at hand serve policies underlying the law
- ID false conflicts: apply law of only interest states
- Resolve true conflicts by applying law of forum
- Disinterested forum: apply either (i) law closest to forum’s law or (ii) forum chooses better law
- unprovided-for cases: apply forum law (no states have interest)

Question 3

P and D are both citizens of Michigan. With D driving they take a short trip to Ontario. D’s insurance company is a Michigan corp adn sells insurance only in Michigan. P and D are in an accident in Ontario and P is injured. Asuming Ontario has “guest statute” rendering drivers imune from liability to guests and Michigan (where parties live) does not, which states’s law should apply

Answer 3

Michigan. False confflict under interest anaysis. Ontario doesn’t have interest b/c not protecting their citizens or insurane company

Question 4

Most significant relationship approach (second restatement)

Answer 4

apply law of state that has most significant relationship to occurance or transaction and parties

Controlling principles:
(1) needs of interstate and international judicial system (2) relevant policies of forum (3) relevant policies of other interested states and relative interests of those states in determination of particular issue, (4) protection of justified expectations; (5) basic policies underlying partiuclar field of law (6) certainty, predictability, and uniformity of result; (7 ease of determining and applying law chosen

Reelvant contacts:

• torts: places where injury/conduct occurred, place of parties’ domicile
• K: place of contracting, negotiation, and perofrmance, location of subject matter of K, parties’ domicile

Question 5

Federal dist court

Answer 5

• in diversity applly choice of law doctrien in state where fed ct sits
• in transferred cases apply choice of law doctrine of transferor court (e.g. if transfer from GA to CA, apply GA)

Question 6

Constitutional Limits on Choice o Law Decisions

Answer 6

Applicable const provisions: DPC, full faith and credit

Single modern test: Constitutional if (i) state has significant contacts with parties and occurance/transaction at issue; (ii) state has interest in events and outcome of action

Question 7

Choice of Law Doctrine for Torts

Answer 7

(1) First Restatement: law of place of wrong/injury

(2) Second Resetatement and Interest: ID state having most significant relationship to case

Question 8

Choice of Law Doctrine Contracts with choice of law clause

Answer 8

• choice of law provision in K always enforceable (gap-fillers, termss dealing with construction, interpretation, nature/quality of performance, other matters that can be controleld by parties
• when issues that cannot be K (validity, capacity, other matters beyond freedom to K) choice of law provision still enforceable UNLESS either (1) chosen state has no relationship to parties/transaction or (2) chosen law contrary to fundamental public policy of forum state or state with greater interest

Question 9

Choice of K law absent choice of law clause

Answer 9

(1) vested rights approach:
- K existence or validity: pply law of place where last place K binding (usually last event occurred that made K binding)
- performance issue: apply law of place of performance
- title to land: law of state where land located
(2) Second restatement (most ig relationship)

Question 10

Choice of law for procedure

Answer 10

General rule (vested rights): forum applies own laws (e.g. civil practice burdens, burdens of proof, direct action statutes)

Statutes of Lim: Borrwing statutes gen provide that shorter of 2 potentially applicable SOL applies

If no borrowing statute: (1) vested rights: matter of procedure so forum state SOL; (2) interest analysis

Question 11

choice of law real property

Answer 11

Vested rights

• Generally: apply law of place where land located (law of situs)
• Conveyance of real property (Other than death/divorce): apply law of place where property sitauted at time of pertinent transaction (law of situs)

Question 12

Decedent’s Esatate choice of law

Answer 12

Vested rights: apply law of place where land located

Question 13

Personal property choice of law

Answer 13

Vested rights: law of domicile at time of death

Question 14

Corporations choice of law

Answer 14

Internal Affairs Doctrine
-Vested rights: apply law of state of incorporation to issues relating to corp’s creation, its dissolution, internal affairs, liability of its officers and directors to shareholdres

(2) External Relationships: corp’s relationships with 3rd parties go by general choice of law rules

Question 15

Marraiges

Answer 15

General rule: marriage valid where celebrated (created) valid everywhere

Public policy exception: if marraige violate prohibitory rule of state than may not be recognized even if valid where performed

Question 16

Principles that may preclude application of foreign law

Answer 16

Public Policy: court may decline application of another state’s law if violates forum state’s fundamental notion of justice

Penal and Tax Code: (1) vested rights: state will not enforce penal/tax laws of another state (2) second restatement allows but most states refuse to enforce

Question 17

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Answer 17

Generally rqeuires courts of state to give same effect to judgment of sister state’s court that rendering court would give it

Exceptions: (1) lack of juris (2) lack of finality; (3) judgment not on merits

Defenses to enforcement: (a) penal judgments not enforced (one imposed as punishment for offense against public); (b) extrinsic fraud (statute) (fraud by party or attorney that caused other party not to present case fully or comply with procedural requirements

Question 18

Judgment of Foreign Countries (full faith and credit)

Answer 18

(1) State law governs (absent applicable treaty)
(2) Comity: still enforce foreign country judgments same way as states (require juris, regular and just proceedings / some states reciprocity)
(3) Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act: act treats foreign country’s money judgments like state judgments but does not apply to judgments for taxes, penal judgments, or judgments for alimony or support

Question 19

Family Law Judgments (full faith and credit)

Answer 19

(1) Judgment of Divorce: to get full faith and credit rendering court must have SMJ, satisfied if one spouse domiciled in rendering state
(2) Alimony and Property rights: personal juris over spouse whose rights being determined
(3) Child custody decrees: Uniform Child Custody Act says reognized if child’s own state
(4) Divisible Divorce Doctrine: if some parts valid and must be recognized and some not recognize good parts and ignore bad