Conflicts of Laws Flashcards
Governmental-Interest
presumed that the forum state will apply its own law, but the parties may request that another state’s law be applied
Contractual Choice of Law
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
Vested Rights Approach
court looks to the location where the last liable event took place to determine choice-of-law
a forum court that is applying the law of another state must apply that foreign state’s conflict-of laws rules
Klaxon Doctrine
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
Individual Domicile
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
Depecage Approach
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
Constitutional Standard
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
Divorce and Personal Property
questions of law relating to the grounds for divorce and persona property controlled by the law of the plaintiff’s domicile in a divorce
Significant-Relationship Approach
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
Divorce Decrees
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
UCC Transactions
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
Three Arguments against Application of Foreign Law
Law is applied is:
1) Procedural rather than substantive
2) against public policy
3) penal law
Erie Doctrine
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
Significant Relationship
Second Restatement
Land contracts are controlled by the law of the state with the most significant relationship (typically where land sits)
Seven Policy Principles under the most-significant relationship approach
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
Workers’-COmpensation Act
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
Corporate Securities
Under the UCC, the law of issuer’s state of incorporation typically apply
Bested rights approach
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
Probate
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
