Introductory Points

Question 1

Intro

Answer 1

On the exam, you should look for conflicts issues when the
facts include connections to multiple states. Additionally,
conflicts issues are usually combined with other subjects,
especially family law, federal procedure, or torts.
There are two important but distinct testing areas for
conflicts:
* Recognition of judgments; and
* Choice of law.
Domicile, a legal concept that has applications in conflicts,
also will be covered.

Question 2

TESTING AREA ONE:
RECOGNITION OF JUDGMENTS

Answer 2

A recognition of judgments question may arise when two
conditions are satisfied:
* A judgment has been entered by a court in one jurisdiction;
and
* A party is seeking to have that judgment recognized by a
court in a different jurisdiction.

Question 3

Terminology Tip

Answer 3

The place where the judgment was originally entered is
referred to as the rendering jurisdiction and the place where
recognition is being sought is referred to as the recognizing
jurisdiction.

Question 4

Core Question

Answer 4

The core question then becomes: “Will the recognizing court
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recognize the judgment issued by the rendering court?” This
will be discussed in the next chapter.

Question 5

Reasons for a Party to Seek Recognition

Answer 5

Plaintiffs will most often seek recognition in order to access
enforcement mechanisms in the rendering state.
Defendants will most often seek recognition to prevent a
plaintiff from relitigating a claim or an issue

Question 6

ANALYSIS OVERVIEW

Answer 6

As noted in I. in the chart below, the first question to ask
is whether the rendering jurisdiction is a sister state or a
foreign country. The answer to that question will lead you to
the correct analysis, as noted in II.A. and II.B. in the chart and
in the forthcoming text.

Question 7

Tip

Answer 7

On the exam, you obviously won’t have to do any
analysis to answer the question “is the rendering
jurisdiction a sister state or foreign country.” It
will simply be provided to you in the facts. Most of the time,
the rendering jurisdiction will be a sister state.

Question 8

SISTER STATE JUDGMENTS

Answer 8

If the rendering court is a court in a sister state, then the source of the obligation to recognize the judgment is constitutional (in other words, the Full Faith and Credit Clause applies). By statute, full faith and credit principles also apply to the recognition of judgments between federal courts and state courts. As noted in the chart, there are two steps or questions to ask:
*
Are the requirements for full faith and credit satisfied?; and
TWO-PART ANALYSIS OVERVIEWI. Is the rendering jurisdiction a sister state or a foreign country?II. A. If sister stateII. B. If foreign country1. Are the requirements of full faith and credit satisfied?2. Are there any valid defenses?Recognition is requiredwhen the answer to #1 is yes and the answer to #2 is noIs the foreign judgmententitled to comity?CMR Chart
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* Are there any valid defenses?

Question 9

Step #1: Are the Requirements for Full Faith
and Credit Satisfied?

Answer 9

There are three requirements that must be satisfied before
the Full Faith and Credit Clause kicks in.

Question 10

Requirement #1: Jurisdiction
Rule:

Answer 10

The rendering state must have had jurisdiction over the
parties (that is, personal jurisdiction) and jurisdiction over the
subject matter.
Exception: When the issue of jurisdiction has been fully
and fairly litigated, the jurisdictional determination is itself
entitled to full faith and credit.

Question 11

Requirement #2: On the Merits
Rule:

Answer 11

The judgment entered by the rendering state must
have been on the merits.
Other examples of judgments not on the merits include
dismissals based on:
* Lack of jurisdiction (either personal or subject matter);
* Misjoinder;
* Improper venue; and
* Failure to state a claim (sometimes).

Question 12

Caution: Default and Consent Judgments

Answer 12

A default judgment treats all factual contentions as
admitted and is therefore on the merits for full faith and
credit and recognition of judgment purposes. (But since
no actual issues were determined, the judgment could
not be used for issue preclusion.) A consent judgment
entered after settlement also is considered on the
merits for purposes of recognition.

Question 13

Requirement #3: Finality
Rule:

Answer 13

The judgment entered by the rendering court must be
a final judgment. The most common application here is a
judgment on appeal in the rendering jurisdiction, which is not
final.

Question 14

Rendering State Law Used to Determine the Three
Requirements

Answer 14

These three requirements are evaluated using the law of the
rendering state. (But note that the law of the enforcing state
governs the method of enforcement.)

Question 15

Step #2: Are There Any Defenses to Full Faith
and Credit?

Answer 15

The following are valid defenses to full faith and credit.

Question 16

Penal Judgments

Answer 16

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, this means that the plaintiff in the suit that
led to the judgment was the state.

Question 17

Extrinsic Fraud

Answer 17

A judgment obtained by extrinsic fraud is not entitled to full
faith and credit. Extrinsic fraud is fraud that could not be
corrected during the regular course of proceedings leading
to the judgment

Question 18

Attractive But Invalid Defenses—Public Policy and
Mistake

Answer 18

Attractive but invalid defenses also are tested on the exam.
* Attractive but invalid defense #1: public policy.
Attractive but invalid defense #2: mistake

Question 19

FOREIGN JUDGMENTS (COMITY)

Answer 19

If the rendering court is a court 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. Many of the same principles
as full faith and credit will be considered to guide the court’s
discretion (for example, is the foreign judgment final? Was the
foreign judgment on the merits?). But there are two additional
questions that a recognizing court may ask follow.

Question 20

Did the Foreign Court Have Jurisdiction?

Answer 20

The foreign court must have had jurisdiction. The court has
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greater leeway to assess jurisdiction than in the full faith and
credit context.

Question 21

Were the Procedures in the Foreign Court
Fair?

Answer 21

The American court also will assess whether the procedures
in the foreign court were fair.