Conflict of Laws MEE Flashcards
Two Distinct Testing Areas
(A) recognition of judgments and
(B) choice of law
Recognition of Judgment Question Conditions
(1) a judgment has been entered by a court in one jurisdiction and
(2) a party is seeking to have that judgment recognized by a court in a different jurisdiction
Rendering Jurisdiction
place where the judgment was originally entered
Recognizing Jurisdiction
place where recognition is being sought is referred to as the recognizing jurisdiction
Recognition - Core Question
will the recognizing court recognize the judgment of the rendering court?
Part One of Recognition Analysis
Is the rendering jurisdiction a sister state or a foreign country
IF Sister State
(a) are the requirements of full faith and credit satisfied AND
(b) are there any valid defenses
Three Steps for Full Faith and Credit
(a) Jurisdiction
(b) on the merits
(c) finality
Full Faith and Credit Step One
the rendering state must have had jurisdiction over the parties (personal) and jurisdiction over the subject matter
Full Faith and Credit Step Two
the judgment entered by the rendering state must have been on the merits
On The Merits
(a) default judgments
(b) consent judgment after settlements
Full Faith and Credit Step Three
judgment entered by the rendering court must be a final judgment
Valid Defenses: Penal Judgments
not entitled to full faith and credit: a penal judgment is one that punishes an offense against the public
Valid Defenses: Extrinsic Fraud
not entitled to full faith and credit: fraud that could not be corrected during the regular course of the proceedings leading to the judgment
IF Foreign Country
is the foreign judgment entitled to comity