Conflicts of Law Flashcards
Under the ________________ 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.
governmental-interest
When will a court enforce a contractual choice of law agreement?
Courts will enforce the contractual choice of law agreement if it is:
(1) A valid agreement with an effective choice of law clause;
(2) Applicable to the lawsuit under the terms of the contract;
(3) Reasonably related to the lawsuit; and
(4) Does not violate the public policy of the forum state or another interested state.
Under the _________________ the court looks to the location where the last liable event took place to determine choice-of-law.
vested rights approach
TRUE OR FALSE: Under the doctrine of renvoi, a forum court that is applying the law of another state must also apply that foreign state’s conflict-of-law rules.
TRUE
Under Klaxon in a federal diversity case, the federal district court is generally required to apply the conflict-of-laws rules of ___________________, only to the extent that the state’s rules are valid under the Full Faith and Credit and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
the state in which it sits
How does a court determine an individual’s domicile?
Domicile is determined by:
(1) a person’s actual physical presence in a location, and
(2) the person’s intent to make the location his/her home for the time being.
Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a forum state may apply its own law to a particular case only if it has _______________ with the state such that a choice of its law is neither arbitrary nor fundamentally unfair.
significant contact(s)
TRUE OR FALSE: Under the dépeçage approach, the law of one state may govern one or more particular issues while other issues are controlled by the law of one or more other states.
TRUE
Questions of law relating to the grounds for divorce and personal property are controlled by the law of _________________ in a divorce matter.
the plaintiff’s domicile
TRUE OR FALSE: For transactions governed by the UCC when the debtor and the collateral are located in different states, then the law of the state where the debtor is located determines perfection, the effect of perfection or nonperfection, and the priority of that security interest if the security interest is a possessory security interest.
FALSE: If the security interest is a possessory security interest, then the law of the state where the collateral is located determines perfection, the effect of perfection or nonperfection, and the priority of that security interest.
Under the most-significant-relationship approach, what are the four important contacts the court considers?
The court considers the:
(1) place of injury;
(2) place where conduct causing injury occurred;
(3) domicile, residence, place of incorporation, or place of business of the parties; and
(4) place where the relationship is centered.
Divorce decrees from other states are entitled to full faith and credit as long as the original state had ____________ to enter the decree and the decree is _____________in the original state.
jurisdiction; valid
What are three arguments generally made against the application of foreign law?
That the law applied is: (1) procedural rather than substantive, (2) against public policy, or (3) a penal law.
Under the Restatement (Second) approach, land contracts are controlled by the law of the state of __________________.
the situs of the land
TRUE OR FALSE: Under Erie, in diversity jurisdiction cases, the federal district court must apply both the procedural law and substantive law of the state where the court sits.
FALSE: Under the Erie doctrine, in diversity jurisdiction cases, federal district courts must apply the substantive law of the state where the court sits.
The Erie doctrine does not require that the state’s procedural laws be applied, however, and if a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure addresses the procedural issue at hand, then that rule will be applied. If no federal rule applies, then the district court must follow state law with regard to substance, but it can choose to ignore state law with regard to procedure, under certain circumstances.
