Choice Of Law Flashcards
(32 cards)
How can person acquire domicile?
- By choice: must abandon previous domicile, establish physical prescient in chosen domicile, and have intent to remain for indefinite time (owing real estate, paying taxes, setting up bank account)
- By Law - for people who do not have legal capacity to choose domicile. A child takes domicile of her parents
Domicile of corporation
Generally state where it is incorporated. Other contacts may prove relevant
Forum state
State where lawsuit is brought
Traditional approach to choice of law
Territorial - each state determines legal effect of events that occur within its territory. Generally, court needs to determine where the legal right vested and apply the law of that place.
Law vests when the last act takes place that is necessary to give the P a cause of action.
Choice of law - governmental interest analysis approach and how to apply
Law applies to set of facts if its application to those facts would promote underlying purpose of the law. If law of state applies, state is said to be interested in case. Presumed that forum state will apply its own law, but parties can request another state,s law be applied because a state has a greater interest in the outcome
- Determine which states are interested:
- If only one state interest, there is a false conflict - court apply law of only interested state.
- If more than one state interested, true conflict - court apply law of forum state- if neither interested, should apply law of forum.
- Distinguish between conduct-regulating laws and loss-shifting laws.
- Conduct-regulating - designed to regulate conduct.
- Loss shifting - determine who can and cannot be liable
States have interest in applying conduct regulating law when wrongful conduct occurs within territory of state or when state domiciliary is injured.
States have interest is applying loss shifting law when doing so would benefit state domiciliary.
Choice of law - Most significant relationship analysis
Apply law of the state with the most significant relationship to the particular issue in question. Based on 7 guiding principles to determine significant relationship, in 3 clusters:
- Promoting relevant policies of forum;
- Systemic interests (certainty, uniformity, predictability and simplicity)
- Protecting the justified expectations of the parties
If no state has a more significant relationship, courts will apply forum law as a tie breaker
Renvoi
When a court applies law of another state, it applies the whole law of that state, including the state’s choice of law. All three approaches to choice of law generally reject the renvoi - ignoring state’s choice of law rules
Torts - Choice of law
Traditional approach/ vested rights : Law of the place where the last event necessary to make actor liable for tort took place.
Most significant relationship: Place with most significant relationship - place where injury occurred, place where conduct causing injury took place, domicile, residence or place of business of parties, place where relationship between parties is centered. Place of injury controls unless another state has a more significant relationship.
Governmental interest: Forum state generally looks to its own law, so long as taht state has a legitimate interest in applying its own law. Another state’s law is applied if party requests and forum court determines that the other state’s law should apply in accordance with forum state policies.
Choice of law - Contracts
Parties are free to choose law that governs, but validity of contract cannot be solve solely by parties’ choice of law. Express cOL provision governs.
Vested rights/traditional: Either where contract was executed or where it was to be performed
Most significant relationship: generally consider location of contracting/negotiation, place where contract subject matter is located, location of parties’ domiciles, nationalities etc
Immovable Property - choice of law
Includes land and interest in land. Under all three approaches, governed by law of the place where the property is located.
Significant Relationship approach still requires consideration of the seven guiding principles - most important principle is the justified expectations of the parties, and strong presumption in favor of the law of the situs. Court applies whole law of the state, including state’s choice of law rules.
Moveable property
Tangible: Most issues governed by UCC. If UCC does not apply, turn to general approaches. Apply law of state where property was located at time of transaction.
Intangible property: Traditional approach - law of state where intangible property created. Significant connection approach - seven guiding factors
Corporations - Choice of law for internal affairs
Rights and obligations of the participants in the venture - governed by state of incorporation.
Marriage - choice of law
Traditional approach: Validity governed by law of place where marriage was celebrated, unless the marriage violates public policy of domicile of either party and they can refuse to recognize it.
Significant connection approach: Marriage that is valid where celebrated will be valid everywhere. Unless it violates the public policy of the state with the most significant relationship with the parties at time of marriage.
Choice of law - marital property
Any interest in property that one spouse acquires in the property of other spouse by virtue of marriage.
Immovable property - law of state where land is located.
Moveable property - law of state where couple was domicile at time of acquisition.
If marital funds or property used by one spouse to acquire property in another state, acquired property has same character as the property or funds used to acquire it.
Laws of other states
Modern approach - most states allow courts to take judicial notice of laws of other states. Fed court must take judicial notice of the laws of all 50 states but require pleading and proof of foreign country law.
Penal laws of foreign state
Court will not enforce the penal laws of another state. Laws that provide for civil recovery are not penal laws, and tax laws are not penal laws.
Applying foreign law - Public policy exception
Traditional and significant connection approach: Court can refuse to apply foreign law if that law violates a fundamental and strongly held public policy of the forum state.
Only applies if enforcement of foreign law would violate forum’s principles of justice or deep-rooted morals or traditions. If successful, result is dismissal without prejudice of P’s claim.
Can be used to reject foreign cause of action, but not foreign defense
Choice of law - substance v procedure distinction
Forum law always governs procedural.
Parol evidence: Substantive rule.
Evidentiary: Procedural, or most significant relationship if that approach applies. Strong presumption in favor of law that would allow admission of evidence.
Damages: Substantive issue, or with most significant relationship if that approach applies.
Statute of limitations: Procedural unless it is bound up with a statutory right, in which case it is substantive.
Borrowing statutes
Bar suits on foreign causes of action that are precluded under shorter of:
- Borrowing state’s SOL; or
- SOL of the place where cause of action arose.
Constitutional limitations on choice of law
State may apply its own substantive law to an issue only if state has significant contact or aggregation of contacts with the issue such that the application of its own law is neither arbitrary nor fundamentally unfair.
Erie Doctrine
Federal courts exercising diversity jurisdiction must apply the substantive law of the states in which they sit as the law has been interpreted by the highest state court.
If state substantive law is unclear the federal court must look to other court decisions to determine how the highest court would rule on the issue.
When is a state law substantive under Erie doctrine?
Statute of limitations is substantive for purposes of Erie doctrine. State statute is substantive under Erie if it is outcome determinative.
State law that is arguable substantive - may apply judge made federal common law after a balancing test.
Codified federal rule - federal rule must be applied in federal court
Klaxon Rule
Federal district court in a diversity case must apply the choice of law rules in the state in which it sits.
Exception - if a diversity case was properly filed in federal court in one state, then transferred to federal court in another state pursuant to federal venue statute, then first state’s choice of law rules apply.
Last in TIme Rule
Arises when there is a valid, final judgment is inconsistent with another valid, final judgment. Last in time judgment is entitled to full faith and credit.
