Place of the Most Significant Relationship (Restatements)

Question 1

Second Restatement analysis

Answer 1

a. A court, subject to constitutional restrictions, will follow a statutory directive of its own state on the choice of law
b. In the absence of such directive, apply the law of the place that has the most significant relationship to the occurrence.

Question 2

Phillips v. GM

Answer 2

Montana resident buys car in NC; buyer and family have an accident in Kansas; sole surviving family member moves to NC and files suit against GM in Montana; Montana adopts the Second Restatement.

court held Kansas had no interest (§ 6 of Second Restatement) in products not sold in Kansas and no interest in non-Kansas victims; Montana has a big interest: domicile of decedents before death, relationship between the parties, justified expectations, basic policies underlying field of law, uniformity and predictability.

Question 3

Contracts:

Wood Bros. (NM construction)

Answer 3

applicable law will normally be the place of the making of the contract and performance if the same (subject to some exceptions).

CO contractor entered into contract with defendant in NM to work on project in NM; NM officials stopped the work because contractor was not licensed in NM; contractor sued in CO to recover for work done; CO law would have allowed recovery; NM law bars recovery for an unlicensed contractor once he is off the job.

NM’s interest in controlling construction, licensing and contracting outweighs CO’s interest in validating contracts and protecting CO parties’ expectations; presumption that the law of the place of performance applies is not overcome here.