Territorial Limits and Foreign Suits

Question 1

Since Equity acts in personam, can they issue decrees affecting land?

Answer 1

Decrees affecting land

• Generally, it is inappropriate for a court in a foreign country or another state to transfer property located in another state;
• While a foreign court cannot convey land located outside of its jurisdictional boundaries, it can coerce parties before it into making such a converyance;
• Foreign courts are not required to accept out of state decrees affecting real property, but they can choose to do so;
• Similar principles apply to personal property in other states.

Question 2

What is Full Faith and Credit and the Doctrine of Comity?

Answer 2

United States Constitution: Each state shall give full faith and credit to the records and judicial proceedings of every other state.

May 26, 1790 Act: “Records and judicial proceedings of the state courts . . . shall have the same faith and credit given to them in every court within the United States, as they have, by law or usage, in the courts of the state from whence they are or shall be taken.”

28 U.S.C. § 1738: Requiring state and federal courts to give full faith and credit to each others’ “judicial proceedings.”

Full Faith and Credit (Constitutional Clause) is similar to the Doctrine of Comity but is much broader in scope. The Full Faith and Credit doctrine need not be invoked when the state of the situs, as a matter of comity, recognizes the rights upon which the decree of a sister state is based and decides the enforcement of such rights does not violate any principle of public policy of the situs state.

A court is not required to give full faith and credit to a judgment of a sister state which purports to act in rem and would directly affect the title to land in the situs state.

Limitations of Full Faith and Credit:

• Requires a judgment in any state to be given full faith and credit in the courts of every other state, but
• Does not extend the jurisdiction of the courts of one state to property situated in another,
• Only makes the judgment rendered conclusive on the merits of the claim or subject-matter of the suit.