Conflicts of Laws

Question 1

Governmental-Interest

Answer 1

presumed that the forum state will apply its own law, but the parties may request that another state’s law be applied

Question 2

Contractual Choice of Law

Answer 2

Courts will enforce the contractual choice of law agreement if it is:
1) Valid agreement with an effective choice of law clause
2) applicable to the lawsuit under teh 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

Question 3

Vested Rights Approach

Answer 3

court looks to the location where the last liable event took place to determine choice-of-law

Answer 4

a forum court that is applying the law of another state must apply that foreign state’s conflict-of laws rules

Question 5

Klaxon Doctrine

Answer 5

Federal Diversity case - federal district court is generally required to apply the conflicts-of-laws rules of the state in which it sits, only to the extent that the state’s rules are valid under the Full Faith and Credit and Due Process Clauses of the US Constitution

Question 6

Individual Domicile

Answer 6

Domicile is determined by:
1) person’s actual physical presence in a location AND
2) person’s intent to make the location home for the time being

Question 7

Depecage Approach

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Constitutional Standard

Answer 8

Under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, a forum state may apply its own law to a particular case only if it has significant contact with the state such that choice of its laws is neither arbitrary nor fundamentally unfair

Question 9

Divorce and Personal Property

Answer 9

questions of law relating to the grounds for divorce and persona property controlled by the law of the plaintiff’s domicile in a divorce

Question 10

Significant-Relationship Approach

Answer 10

Four important contracts the court considers:
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

Question 11

Divorce Decrees

Answer 11

Divorce decrees from other states are entitled to full faith and credit as long as the original state had jurisdiction to enter the decree and the decree is valid in the original state

Question 12

UCC Transactions

Answer 12

False: When the debtor and the collateral are located in different states, 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

Not true when the security interests is possessory - state where collateral is located determines the facts

Question 13

Three Arguments against Application of Foreign Law

Answer 13

Law is applied is:
1) Procedural rather than substantive
2) against public policy
3) penal law

Question 14

Erie Doctrine

Answer 14

In diversity cases, the federal law will apply the substantive law of the state where the court sits

Federal law will apply the federal procedural law

Question 15

Significant Relationship

Answer 15

Second Restatement

Land contracts are controlled by the law of the state with the most significant relationship (typically where land sits)

Question 16

Seven Policy Principles under the most-significant relationship approach

Answer 16

1) needs of the interstate or international system
2) relevant policies of the forum
3) policies of the interested states
4) Parties’ expectations
5) policies underlying the substantive areas of law
6) certainty, predictability, and uniformity
7) ease of future application

Question 17

Workers’-COmpensation Act

Answer 17

Any state with a legitimate interest in an injury and its consequences may apply its workers’-compensation act

Generally, a state will have a legitimate intersts if it is the state where:
1) employment relationship was entered into by the worker and employer
2) injury to the employee occurred
3) employment relationship principally occurred OR
4) employee or the employee’s dependents reside

Question 18

Corporate Securities

Answer 18

Under the UCC, the law of issuer’s state of incorporation typically apply

Question 19

Bested rights approach

Answer 19

Contract disputes, the laws of the location where the contract was executed determine the validity, defenses to formation, and interpretation of the contract whereas the details of performance are governed by the laws of the location where the contract was to be performed

Question 20

Probate

Answer 20

Questions regarind the transfer of property from someone who dies intestate are governed by decedent’s domicile, but questions regarding the transfer of real property from someone who dies intestate or who has a will are governed by the situs