Conflicts of Law Flashcards
Tort Claims in Conflicts of Law [MOST HIGHLY TESTED, tested in feb 2021]
In a tort dispute, Michigan courts apply Michigan law unless there is a rational reason to do otherwise. In assessing whether there is a rational reason, the court first examines whether any foreign state has an interest in having its law apply. If the only connection with the case and the foreign state is that the plaintiff lives in the foreign state, this is insufficient to support a foreign state’s interest. If no state has such an interest, the presumption that Michigan law will apply cannot be overcome.
If a foreign state does have an interest in having its law applied, the court uses a balancing approach to determine if Michigan’s interests mandate application of Michigan law despite foreign interests.
Factors to consider: place where the injury occurred; the place where the conduct causing the injury occurred; the domicile/place of incorporation/place of business of the parties, place where relations btwn parties was created
Michigan has an interest in regulating “conduct within its borders”
Contractual Disputes - Conflict of Laws**
For contractual disputes, choice of law clauses are enforceable if the issue is one the parties could have resolved by an express contractual provision, unless the chosen state has no substantial relationship to the parties/ transaction, or when there is no reasonable basis for choosing that state’s law or if the chosen state’s law ‘would be contrary to a fundamental policy of a state which has a materially greater interest than the chosen state in the determination of the particular issue and would be the state of the applicable law in the absence of a contractual clause
In the absence of an effective contractual choice-of-law provision, courts to consider several factors in determining which state’s law to apply:
(a) the place of contracting,
(b) the place of negotiation of the contract,
c) the place of performance,
(d) the location of the subject matter of the contract, and
e) the domicile, residence, nationality, place of incorporation and place of business of the parties.
Statute of Limitations
If a Michigan resident brings suit in Michigan for a cause of action accruing outside of Michigan, Michigan SOL applies
If nonresident brings suit, it will be time-barred if it is time barred under either Michigan or the other state’s SOL.
