Conflict Of Laws Set Flashcards
Which state’s law will govern with respect to the inheritance of real property in a will?
A The state where the testator was domiciled at death.
B The state where the will was executed.
C The state where the land is located.
D The state where the will is probated.
C
The law of the situs (where the land is located) will govern the inheritance of real property, in both the context of wills and intestacy.
Which state’s law will govern the inheritance of personal property in the case of intestacy (i.e., where there is no valid will)?
A The state where the decedent died.
B The state where the decedent was domiciled at death.
C The state where the personal property is located.
D The state where the will is probated.
B
The devolution (transfer) of personal property is ordinarily governed by the law of the decedent’s domicile at the date of death. That rule is virtually always followed in the case of intestacy and is usually followed in cases where there is a valid will.
In a federal civil action based on diversity jurisdiction, the federal court will apply which choice of law approach?
A The First Restatement (vested rights) approach.
B The Second Restatement (most significant relationship) approach.
C The Interest Analysis (governmental interest) approach.
D The same approach used by the state courts of the forum state.
D
Under the Erie Doctrine, a federal court sitting in diversity jurisdiction must employ the same choice of law approach as that used by the state courts of the forum state. See Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing Co., 313 U.S. 487 (1941).
Under the Second Restatement (most significant relationship) approach for choice of law, which of the following is the presumption (or default rule) for most tort cases?
A The law of the place of injury.
B The law of the place where the conduct causing the injury occurred.
C The law of the plaintiff’s domicile.
D The law of the defendant’s domicile.
A
Under the Second Restatement approach, the presumption or default rule is that the law of the place of injury will govern in most tort cases, unless another state can be demonstrated to have a more significant relationship to the litigation at issue.
Under the First Restatement (vested rights) approach for choice of law, which state’s law will govern in most tort cases?
A The law of the forum state.
B The law of the state where the injury occurred.
C The law of the state where the plaintiff is domiciled.
D The law of the state where the defendant is domiciled.
B
Under the First Restatement (vested rights) approach, the court will choose the law of the state which was the place of the wrong. For almost all torts, the law of the place of the wrong is defined as the place of injury.
The law of the ____________________ generally governs choice of law issues involving real property.
A Actus Reus.
B Terra Fides.
C Terra Contractus.
D Situs.
D
For questions related to real property, the law of the situs is almost always applied. This is true regardless of the choice of law approach adopted by the forum.
Which choice of law approach is also known as the “most significant relationship” approach?
A The First Restatement approach.
B The Second Restatement approach.
C The Better Law approach.
D The Lex Fori approach.
B
The Second Restatement approach to choice of law is also known as the “most significant relationship” approach. The First Restatement approach is also known as the “vested rights” approach.
Under choice of law principles, the parties to a contract are ____________________ allowed to specify the law that governs their own contractual relationship.
A Always.
B Frequently.
C Rarely.
D Never.
B
Parties to a contract are normally allowed to specify the law that governs their contractual relationship through a choice of law provision, provided none of the following exceptions apply: (i) the law chosen by the parties cannot contradict a fundamental policy of a state with a materially greater interest than the chosen state; (ii) the law chosen by the parties cannot contradict a policy of the most interested state unless the parties or transaction has a substantial relationship to the chosen state; or (iii) the contractual agreement to choose the governing law must not have been the product of fraud, mistake, or coercion.
Judgments from foreign countries are often recognized and enforced in the United States as a matter of:
A Full faith and credit.
B Renvoi.
C Comity.
D Universalism.
C
Foreign country judgments are not entitled to full faith and credit but are often recognized and enforced in the United States as a matter of comity (voluntary recognition). Renvoi is a choice of law concept that refers to a forum’s use of another state’s choice of law principles to select the applicable law.
What is required for a person to change her state of domicile?
A Physical presence in the state only.
B The intent to remain in the state permanently or for an indefinite period only.
C Physical presence in the state combined with the intent to remain permanently or for an indefinite period in the state.
D Registering to vote and changing one’s state identification in the new state.
C
Domicile by choice for individuals requires physical presence in the state and the intent to remain in the state permanently or for an indefinite period. Registered to vote and changing one’s state identification constitute good evidence showing a person’s intent to remain in a state, but are not absolutely required for a bona fide change of domicile.
With respect to domicile, at any given time an individual may have:
A Only one domicile.
B No more than two domiciles.
C One domicile for her place of work and one for her primary residence.
D As many domiciles as residences.
A
An individual may not have more than one domicile at any given time. An individual is domiciled in the state she considers to be her primary home, provided the individual has established a physical presence in the state in conjunction with her intention to be domiciled there.
A divorce issued by a court that lacks personal jurisdiction over an absent spouse would be referred to as:
A A no fault divorce.
B A simplified divorce.
C An ex parte divorce.
D A collaborative divorce.
C
A divorce based on the domicile of only one of the spouses is an ex parte divorce. In the context of an ex parte divorce, the other spouse need not be present and personal jurisdiction is not required over the absent spouse.
Which of the following is a jurisdictional predicate required for a court to issue a valid divorce decree entitled to full faith and credit?
A One of the spouses must be domiciled in the state granting the divorce.
B Both of the spouses must be domiciled in the state granting the divorce.
C Both spouses must be present at the proceedings where the divorce is granted.
D The granting state must have personal jurisdiction over both spouses.
A
Only one of the spouses must be domiciled in the state granting the divorce in order for the divorce decree to be entitled to full faith and credit. Both spouses need not be present at the divorce proceedings, and personal jurisdiction over an absent spouse is not required.
Which of the following is a jurisdictional predicate required for a valid child custody order?
A Both parents must be domiciled in the state making the custody determination.
B The state making the custody determination must be the child’s state of birth.
C The state making the custody determination must be the child’s home state, as defined by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.
D The state making the custody determination must be the child’s permanent state of residence, as defined by Supreme Court case law.
C
Pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), a child custody determination may only be made in the child’s home state, defined in the statute as the state where the child has lived for the last six months. The UCCJEA applies alternate provisions in the event there is no state that can be classified as the child’s home state.
The traditional approach is to treat statutes of limitation as ____________________, meaning the forum will typically apply ____________________.
A Substantive; the statute of limitations of the state selected by the forum’s choice of law approach.
B Substantive; its own statute of limitations.
C Procedural; the statute of limitations of the state selected by the forum’s choice of law approach.
D Procedural; its own statute of limitations.
D
Traditionally, statutes of limitation have been treated as procedural issues, so the forum will apply its own statute of limitations unless an exception applies (e.g., the forum has a borrowing statute).
