Conflicts of Laws Flashcards
Recognition of Judgments: Conditions
Recognition of judgment issue may arise when:
(1) A judgment has been issued by a court, and
(2) A party is seeking to have that judgment recognized in a second, different court
Recognition of Judgments: Terminology
Rendering jurisdiction: place where judgment was originally entered
Recognizing jurisdiction: place where recognition is being sought
Recognition of Judgments: Why Parties Seek Recognition
Plaintiffs will most often seek recognition in order to access enforcement mechanisms in the rendering state
Defendants will most often seek recognition to prevent plaintiff from relitigating a claim or an issue
Recognition of Judgments: Analysis Overview
(1) Is the rendering jurisdiction a sister state or a foreign country?
(2) (a) If a sister state:
(i) Are the requirements of full faith and credit satisfied?
(ii) Are there any valid defenses?
(2)(b) If a foreign country, is the judgment entitled to comity?
Recognition of Judgments: Sister State
If the rendering court is a sister state, then the source of the obligation to recognize the judgment is constitutional: Full Faith and Credit
Full faith and credit also applies to recognition of judgments between state courts and federal courts
Recognition of Judgments: Sister State - Full Faith and Credit Requirements
Evaluate requirements below using the law of the rendering state
(1) Jurisdiction: the rendering state must have had jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter
- Exception: When the issue of jurisdiction has been fully and fairly litigated, then the jurisdictional determination itself is entitled to full faith and credit
(2) Merits: the judgment entered by the rendering state must have been on the merits
- Not on the merits if: SOL ran, lack of jurisdiction, misjoinder, improper venue, failure to state a claim (12b6)
- Merits if: default judgment, consent judgment entered after settlement
(3) Finality: judgment by the rendering court must be a final judgment
Not final: judgment on appeal, modifiable elements of a judgment (e.g. future support payments)
Recognition of Judgments: Sister State - Full Faith and Credit - Valid Defenses
VALID Defenses:
(1) Penal judgments: a penal judgment is not entitled to full faith and credit
(a) Penal judgment is one that punishes an offense against the public; in practice, if state was plaintiff
(2) Extrinsic fraud: a judgment obtained by extrinsic fraud is not entitled to full faith and credit
(a) Extrinsic fraud is fraud that could not be corrected during regular course of proceedings leading to judgment (e.g. judge was bribed)
Attractive but INVALID defenses:
(1) Public policy: public policy is an insufficient reason to avoid full faith and credit
(2) Mistakes: mistakes, e.g. misapplication of law, are insufficient to avoid full faith and credit
Recognition of Judgments: Foreign Judgments
If the rendering court is in a foreign country, then the source of the obligation to recognize the judgment is comity or treaty
Rule: under principles of comity, a recognizing court will exercise discretion to decide whether the foreign judgment should be recognized
Court should consider:
(a) Finality
(b) Merits
(c) Whether foreign court had jurisdiction
(d) Were the procedures in the foreign court fair
Choice of Law: Conditions
A choice of law question may arise when two conditions are satisfied:
(1) The lawsuit involves factual connections with multiple states
(2) The multiple states will have different laws leading to different results
Choice of Law: General Rule & Exceptions
The governing law is the law selected by the forum court according to its choice of law approach (assuming no applicable constitutional or statutory restrictions)
Exceptions:
(1) Diversity cases in federal court: a federal court sitting in diversity applies the choice of law approach of the state in which it sits
(2) Transferred diversity cases: when a diversity case is transferred within the federal system, the federal court applies the choice of law approach of the transferor court (the court from which it was transferred)
Choice of Law: Restrictions
Restrictions that occasionally limit the forum court’s choice of law:
(1) Constitutional: Due Process and Full Faith and Credit: the constitution imposes a limit only if a state’s law that is chosen has no significant contact with and/or legitimate interest in the litigation
(2) Statutory: If the forum state has a statute that directs a choice of law, then the forum court should apply that statute instead of the usual choice of law approach
Choice of Law: Structure of Answer
Paragraph 1: Describe choice of law – “The issue presented is which state’s law will govern the outcome of this litigation. The governing law will be selected by the forum court using the [fill in applicable choice of law approach].”
Paragraph 2: Describe the choice of law approach [Vested Rights, Interest Analysis, or Most Significant Relationship]
Paragraph 3: Apply the choice of law approach – consider the facts presented, apply the approach, and provide a conclusion (governing law and result)
Choice of Law: Vested Rights (First Restatement)
Paragraph 2: “Under this approach the court will apply the law of that state mandated by the applicable vesting rule. That rule is selected according to the relevant substantive area of law.”
Paragraph 3: (a) Categorize the substantive area of law. (b) State the applicable vesting rule. (c) Apply the vesting rule to determine the governing law. (d) Apply the governing law to determine the result.
Choice of Law: Interest Analysis
Paragraph 2: “Under this approach, the court will consider which states have a legitimate interest in the outcome of the litigation. The forum court will apply its own law as long as it has a legitimate interest. If the forum has no legitimate interest, it will apply the law of another interested state.”
Paragraph 3: (a) Discuss which states have legitimate interests. (b) Characterize the type of conflict. False conflict if only one state has a legitimate interest. True conflict if two or more states have a legitimate interest. (c) Choose governing law based on the type of conflict. False conflict apply law of interested state. True conflict, if forum state is interested, apply forum law. (d) Apply the governing law to determine the result.
Choice of Law: Most Significant Relationship (Second Restatement)
Paragraph 2: “Under this approach the court will apply the law of the state which is most significantly related to the outcome of the litigation. To determine this, the court will consider connecting facts and policy principles.”
Paragraph 3: (a) Discuss connecting facts. (b) Discuss policy principles. (c) Choose governing law based on most significant relationship. (d) Apply governing law to determine the result.
