conflicts of law

Question 1

rendering jurisdiction

Answer 1

the court that entered a judgment

Question 2

recognizing jurisdiction

Answer 2

the court that is being asked to recognize the judgment

Question 3

reasons a plaintiff may seek recognition

Answer 3

to enforce the judgment in a different state than the state the judgment was issued in because that is where the assets are

Question 4

reasons why a defendant would seek recognition in a different state

Answer 4

claim preclusion or res judicata- to prevent the plaintiff from relitigating

Question 5

analysis if a different US court than the rendering jurisdiction is asked to recognize a judgment

Answer 5

1. satisfaction of full faith and credit requirements
2. defenses

Question 6

main question if a US court is asked to enforce a judgment entered outside the US

Answer 6

is the foreign judgment entitled to comity?

Question 7

full faith and credit

Answer 7

1. rendering state must have had personal jurisdiction over the defendant & subject matter jurisdiction
2. the judgment entered by the other state must have been final and on the merits

Question 8

does a full faith and credit analysis apply if a state court is asked to enforce a federal court judgment?

Answer 8

yes

Question 9

if the rendering court analyzed jurisdiction and issued a decision, is the sister court able to look at that issue again?

Answer 9

if the rendering state decided it had jurisdiction after the jurisdiction issues were fully litigated, the state being asked to recognize the judgment has to accept the finding of jurisdiction

Question 10

examples of judgments not on the merits

Answer 10

the court dismisses the case because the statute of limitations expired

the court dismisses the case because it found it did not have personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, or venue

Question 11

is a default judgment on the merits for purposes of full faith and credit?

Answer 11

yes, because it treats all allegations as admitted

Question 12

is a consent judgment entered after settlement on the merits for full faith and credit purposes?

Answer 12

yes

Question 13

is a modifiable judgment a final judgment for full faith and credit purposes?

Answer 13

yes if there are any past due payments under the terms of the current judgment

no for future payments, because the other state could modify the judgment

Question 14

is a judgment on appeal final for full faith and credit purposes?

Answer 14

no

Question 15

what state’s law is used to determine if full faith and credit is satisfied?

Answer 15

the law of the state rendering the judgment- not the state asked to recognize

Question 16

defenses to full faith and credit

Answer 16

a judgment that punishes an offense against the public issued by one state will not be enforced by a different state

a judgment obtained by extrinsic fraud will not be enforced in another state

Question 17

penal judgment

Answer 17

judgment that punishes an offense against the public. this is almost always a case filed by the state against one of their citizens.

Question 18

is a judgment for punitive damages a penal judgment?

Answer 18

no

Question 19

extrinsic fraud

Answer 19

fraud that couldn’t be corrected during the proceedings that led to the judgment (judge subject to a bribe, improperly influenced jury)

Question 20

is a judgment that violates the public policy of the recognizing state subject to any defenses?

Answer 20

no

Question 21

is a judgment based on a mistake in the application of law in the rendering state entitled to full force and credit?

Answer 21

yes, there is no defense based on this. the remedy would be to appeal

Question 22

comity

Answer 22

discretionary analysis to determine if a foreign judgment should be recognized

1. did the foreign court have jurisdiction? it does not matter if the court decided it did! court needs to assess based on US due process principles
2. was the judgment final?
3. was the judgment on the merits?
4. are the procedures in the foreign court fair? (ex: could witnesses be confronted and could evidence be challenged as inadmissible?)

Question 23

factors that show there is a choice of law issue

Answer 23

factual connections to multiple states
different laws leading to different results

Question 24

governing law

Answer 24

law selected by the forum court according to its choice of law approach

Question 25

what law does a federal court apply to diversity cases?

Answer 25

the choice of law approach of the state in which it sits

Question 26

if a diversity case was filed in a proper venue, but is transferred, what law applies to decide what is the governing law?

Answer 26

the choice of law approach of the state where the transferor court sits

Question 27

if a diversity case was filed in an improper venue, and is transferred, what law applies to decide what is the governing law?

Answer 27

the choice of law approach of the state where the proper court sits

Question 28

restrictions on choice of law

Answer 28

the constitution (law has no significant contact and no legitimate interest in the lawsuit) forum state statute that dictates the choice of law

Question 29

choice of law approaches

Answer 29

vested rights approach most significant relationship approach interest analysis

Question 30

vested rights approach

Answer 30

law of the state mandated by the applicable vesting rule. 1. categorize substantive area of law (torts/ family law)- based on that state vesting rule 2. use vesting rule for that area of law to determine choice of law 3. apply the governing law to determine the result

Question 31

legitimate interest approach

Answer 31

1. ask which states have legitimate interest 2. decide if there is a: a. false conflict- 1 state with interest b. true conflict- 2 or more states with interest 3a. false conflict- apply law of interested forum state; 3b. true conflict- apply the forum state's law if one of the interested states is the forum state, dismiss the case if a more convenient forum is available, apply the law of an interested state if forum state is not interested

Question 32

legitimate interest approach policy principles

Answer 32

where are the parties from? is the state interested in protecting its resident who is plaintiff or defendant? or is the lawsuit just filed in a certain state because that's where an injury happened and there's no other connection to the forum state?

Question 33

most significant relationship approach

Answer 33

law of state most significantly related to the outcome of the litigation discuss the specific contacts with each state (parties from __, accident happened __), discuss policy principles decide what law applies apply it to decide result

Question 34

torts- vested rights approach

Answer 34

the vesting rule is where did the injury happen?

Question 35

torts- most significant relationship approach

Answer 35

connecting facts- place of injury, where the conduct took place, domicile of parties, state where relationship is centered policy principles of each state connected to the case

Question 36

torts- when the choice of law is not the place of injury under most sig relationship approach

Answer 36

loss distribution rules- a cap on damages, vicarious liability, immunity --> state law that has the rule will apply + parties have a common domicile --> law of common domicile will apply

Question 37

choice of law provision in a contract- general rule & exceptions

Answer 37

generally enforced if it is express and valid. exceptions: 1.invalid if the law selected has no reasonable relationship to the contract 2. invalid if the provision was included without true mutual consent (ex: based on misrepresentation about the selected state law, other fraud, adhesion contracts) 3. invalid if the provision violates a fundamental policy of a state with a materially greater interest in the outcome of

Question 38

vesting rule for contracts

Answer 38

for cases where formation issue is central, apply law of place of contract for cases where performance issue is central, apply law of place of performance

Question 39

most significant relationship analysis in contracts cases

Answer 39

factual connections- place formed, place negotiated, place performed, where parties are domiciled policy principles: -policies of forum state -policies of other connected states -reasonable expectations of the parties (contracts cases) -whether applying a particular law will create uniform results

Question 40

choice of law in property cases

Answer 40

real property- law of state where located applies. this is the vesting rule in vested rights approach. in MSR approach, also law of state where located unless another state has a MSR movable property- law of state where property located at the time of transaction. In MSR approach, the location of property at time of transaction is the controlling factor. inheritance of personal property- law of decedent's domicile at death if the issue relates to inheritance. this is also the controlling factor in MSR approach.

Question 41

marriage choice of law rules

Answer 41

if marriage was valid where it was performed, other states must recognize it exception: temporary relocation for marriage in another state to avoid a public policy based rule of their home state will not be recognized for example: rules prohibiting marriage at a young age, polygamy, incest

Question 42

divorce choice of law rules

Answer 42

forum state applies its own divorce laws as long as it has jurisdiction

Question 43

legitimacy of children- choice of law

Answer 43

law of mother's domicile at time of birth validity of subsequent acts of legitimation concerning paternity are governed by law of father's domicile

Question 44

corporations law issues: choice of law

Answer 44

state where the corporation is incorporated

Question 45

defenses to choice of law

Answer 45

1 public policy 2 the issue is procedural and so the state should apply its own procedural rules -treat SOLs as procedural (note: in fed ct. they are treated as substantive so that FRCP wouldn't apply) exceptions: a. borrowing statutes b. limitations that condition a substantive right

Question 46

borrowing statutes

Answer 46

require a forum state to consider another state's SOL and its own, and must apply the shorter SOL

Question 47

limitations that condition a substantive right

Answer 47

when a state statute creates a substantive right to recover and has limits on that right, like a limitations period, treat those as substantive and apply the whole statute

Question 48

domicile capacity

Answer 48

a person who can choose their own domicile

Question 49

domicile by choice

Answer 49

person with domicile capacity acquires a domicile by being physically present and intending to remain there permanently or indefinitely if cannot establish the test, use last domicile illegal motive does not matter

Question 50

domicile by operation of law

Answer 50

person without domicile capacity - children and incompetents

Question 51

domicile for an incompetent

Answer 51

assigned domicile of their parents incompetency after they choose a domicile- keep domicile they had before they became incompetent

Question 52

children domicile

Answer 52

when born are assigned the domicile of their parents in a divorce case, a child has the domicile of its custodial parent

Question 53

2 major issues in conflict of laws

Answer 53

1 recognition of judgments 2 choice of law

Question 54

Spotting a conflicts issue

Answer 54

Fact pattern shows connection to multiple states Different laws that flip the outcome The question is a torts, civ pro, contracts, or family law question

Question 55

if a federal lawsuit was filed in a court other than the one specified in the forum selection clause, what choice of law approach applies?

Answer 55

the choice of law approach of the state required by the forum selection clause

Question 56

when is a choice of law approach unconstitutional?

Answer 56

if there is an insufficient contact with the state or interest of the state

Question 57

issue statement for choice of law issue

Answer 57

the issue is which state's law will govern the outcome of this litigation. The governing law will be selected by the forum court using __ approach

Question 58

rule statement & application vested rights approach

Answer 58

under this approach the court will apply the law of the state mandated by the applicable vesting rule. The vesting rule is based on the relevant substantive area of law. The vesting rule for __ cases is __. Here, this is a __ case. [Apply rule to facts] so __ law applies. Under __ law, [state relevant substantive legal rule], and therefore [conclusion].

Question 59

interests approach rule statement & app

Answer 59

Under this approach the court considers which states have a legitimate interest in the outcome of the lawsuit. The forum court will apply its own law as long as it has a legitimate interest. If requested by a party, the court will analyze the laws of its own state and other relevant states to determine the underlying policies and whether there is a true or false conflict. If false conflict, applies its own law. If true conflict, it will reconsider its own policies and decide if it still has an interest in applying its own law. Here, the state of __ has a legitimate interest and the state __ has/does not have a legitimate interest. [False conflict: therefore state 1 will apply] [True conflict & forum state is interested: the forum state law will apply.] Then state substantive rule & apply it & conclude.

Question 60

signficant relationship approach rule

Answer 60

under this approach the court will apply the law of the state that is most significantly related to the outcome of the litigation. To determine this, the court will consider connecting facts and policy principles for each state. 3rd par sent 1: state connecting facts for each state 3rd par sent 2: state policy principles for each state 3rd par sent 3: choose governing law based on which state has more facts & stronger policy 3rd par sent 4: apply the chosen state's substantive law & conclude

Question 61

if there is more than one issue/ claim in a most significant relationship state do you apply the approach to each issue?

Answer 61

yes

Question 62

if parties temporarily move to another state or go to another state to get married because they don't want to get parental consent will their home state have to recognize it?

Answer 62

yes, this is a directory rule that is administrative in nature and the marriage was valid when performed

Question 63

if parties temporarily move to another state or go to another state to get married because they don't want to get a marriage license will their home state have to recognize it?

Answer 63

yes, this is a directory rule that is administrative in nature and the marriage was valid when performed

Question 64

Is a tax judgment a penal judgment? Is it required to be enforced by another state?

Answer 64

It is a penal judgment and it is required to be enforced, this is an exception to the rule that penal judgments are not required to be enforced by other states

Question 65

is a contract for sale of land analyzed like a contract or under the property choice of law rules?

Answer 65

it is analyzed under the property choice of law rules for 1st and 2nd restatement (MSR). the 1st restatement has a specific vesting rule for property that trumps contract formation rules. 2nd restatement carves out real estate contracts that create interests in land as exempt from the analysis of where k was negotiated, performed, etc. for interest analysis the normal analysis applies