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28 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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INTRO POINTS |
-look for conflicts issues when facts include multiple states -look when combined w/other subjects, especially family law, federal procedure, or torts
distinct testing areas 1. recognition of judgments 2. choice of law |
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RECOGNITION OF JUDGMENTS |
1. judgment has been issued by one jurisdiciton -"rendering jurisdiction 2. party seeking to have that judgment recognized in another jurisdiction -"recognizing court" [NY for us] -Ps usually seeking recognition in order to access enforcement mechanisms in recognizing state -Ds usually seeking recog to prevent P from relitigation [=preclusion] |
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SISTER STATE JUDGMENTS |
-source of obligation to recognize judgment is constitutional: Full Faith and Credit -also FFC for judgments between federal and state courts
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SISTER STATE JUDGMENTS - REQUIREMENTS #1 JURISDICTION |
1. rendering state must have had jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter -EXCEPT when jurisdictional determination was fully and fairly litigated - jurisdictional decision entitled to FFC |
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SISTER STATE JUDGMENTS - REQUIREMENT #2 MERITS |
2. judgment entered by the rendering state must have been on the merits -e.g. of NOT on the merits (i) statute of limitations (ii) personal jurisdiction (iii) improper venue (iv) misjoinder (v) demurrer or failure to state a claim BUT - default judgments are on the merits -consent judgments entered after settlement also considered on the merits |
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SISTER STATE JUDGMENTS - REQUIREMENT #3 FINALITY |
3. judgment entered by the rendering court must be a final judment -most common application is judgment on appeal in the rendering jurisdiction =/= final |
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VALID DEFENSES TO FFC |
1. penal judgments -penal judgments NOT entitled to FFC = one that punishes an offense against the public -BUT punitive =/= penal (e.g. punitive damages can be enforced in recognizing state) 2. extrinsic fraud -judgment obtained by extrinsic fraud not entitled to FFC -fraud that could not be corrected w/in normal operation of trial/judicial proceedings (e.g. judge was bribed) |
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ATTRACTIVE BUT INVALID DEFENSES |
1. public policy -DOES NOT WORK - e.g. if enforcing gambling Ks are ok in NV, but not NY and other elements of FFC satisfied, NY MUST recognize, despite policy 2. mistakes -if another state misapplies NY law, NY still MUST give FFC to judgment of other state -rationale: mistakes should have been challenged through an appeal in the rendering state |
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FOREIGN JUDMENTS |
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 -comity: recognizing court will exercise discretion to decide whether the foreign judgment should be recognized, similar to FFC consids, plus: 1. did the foreign court have jurisdiction? 2. were the procedures in the foreign court fair? |
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CHOICE OF LAW |
choice of law question arisses when two conditions are satisfied: 1. the lawsuit invovles factual connections to multiple states 2. the multiple states will have different laws leading to different results
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CORE CHOICE OF LAW ISSUE |
CORE Q: which state's law governs?? CORE ANSWER: the governing law is selected by the forum court according to its choice of law approach EXCEPTIONS 1. diversity cases in federal court -a federal court sitting in diversity applies the choice of law approach of the state in which it sits 2. transferred diversity cases -when diversity case transferred w/in fed system, fed ct applies the choice of law approach of the transferor (original) court |
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RESTRICTIONS ON CHOICE OF LAW |
-occasionally limit the forum court's choice of law 1. constitutional: Due Process and FFC -constitution imposes a limit only if a state's law is chosen that has NO significant contact w/and/or legit interest in litigation 2. statutory -if forum state has a statute that directs a choice of law, then the forum court should apply that statute instead of the usual choice of law approach -e.g. a borrowing statute |
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TRADITIONAL CHOICE OF LAW APPROACH |
-each substantive area of law had a vesting rule that specified governing law -for most torts issues, governing law was the place of injury |
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NY APPROACH - BABCOCK V. JOHNSON |
-NY choice of law approach is that it focuses on policies/interests rather than facts -NY courts have consistently concluded that in the face of a true confict, NY law should apply as long as the NY interest is legitimate |
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STRUCTURE FOR NY CHOICE OF LAW |
paragraph 1 " the issue presented is which state's law will govern the outcome of this litigation. the governing law will be selected by the forum court using NY's interest analysis approach to choice of law" paragraph 2 " Under NY's approach, the court will consider which states have a legitimate interest in the outcome of the litigation; the court will apply NY law as long as it has a legitimate interest; if NY does not have a legit interest, the court will apply the law of another interested state" paragraph 3 1. discuss which states have legit interests 2. characterize the type of conflict -e.g. only one state has legit interest (not a conflict) or two states have legit 3. choose the governing law based on the type of conflict 4. apply the governing law to determine the result |
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TORTS - NEUMEIER RULES |
substitute for paragraph 2: "this case involves a choice of law relating to torts. the NY court will therefore apply the Neumeier rules to determine the governing law Rule 1: if the parties are domiciled in the same state apply the law of the common domicile -EXCEPT if the law is strictly about conduct regulation (e.g. driving over speed limit), law of the place of injury applies Rule 2: if the parties are domiciled in different states, apply the law of the place of injury -EXCEPT: if the law of the place of injury has NO legit interest; if NY interested, apply NY law |
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TORTS - MULTIPLE PARTIES |
-Neumeier rules must be applied separately for each plaintiff vis a vis each defendant |
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CONTRACTS |
-choice of law provisions: will be enforced if valid and express -->displaces choice of law analysis if enforced ***if in doubt on the exam, find the choice of law provision invalid and go ahead and do analysis -may be held invalid if: 1. provision was included w/o true mutual assent - e.g. misrepresentation 2. law selected has no reasonable relationship to the contract **if invalid, do interests analysis |
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CONTRACTS - EXCEPTION |
NY has a special statute that applies to large contracts - creates exception to general rule 1. if contracts for at least $250k, parties may choose NY law even if the contract has no connection to NY 2. if contract for at least $1m, parties may choose NY law AND may include clause specifying NY as the forum -NY cts must then enforce the clause and are prohibited for dismissing based on forum non conveniens **if no provision, do interests analysis |
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AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CONTRACTS |
-in NY ALL issues regarding rights and duties under an automobile insurance policy are governed by the state where the policy was written |
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PROPERTY |
-real property (immovable): apply the law of the situs of the property = where it's located -personal property (movable): i) if the case involves an inter vivos transaction, apply the law of the situs at the time of the transaction ii) if the case involves a matter relating to inheritance, apply the law of the decedent's domicile at date of death |
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FAMILY LAW - MARRIAGE |
Marriage: if marriage is valid where performed, it will be recognized as valid everywhere -EXCEPT when domiciliaries of one state temporarily relocate to another state to perform a marriage that violates a prohibitory rule in their home state, the state of domicile will not recognize the marriage -prohibitory rule is rule that expresses a strong public policy reagarding marriage **but NY is actually really tolerant in this area and has been quite willing to recognize marriages performed elsewhere |
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FAMILY LAW - DIVORCE |
-forum will apply its own divorce laws -rationale: to acquire jurisdiction, at least one of the parties must be domiciled in the state -->therefore state has an interest in applying its own law |
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FAMILY LAW - LEGITIMACY |
1. legitimacy of a child is governed by the law of the mother's domicile at the time of the child's birth 2. validity of subsequent acts of legitimation are governed by the law of the father's domicile |
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DEFENSES TO CHOICE OF LAW - PUBLIC POLICY |
-forum court will not apply a law that is against its own fundamental public policy -practical matter - folded into interest analysis approach, as a result, almost never comes up as separate argument ****remember: defense is not good law when it comes to recognition of judgments |
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DEFENSES TO CHOICE OF LAW - PROCEDURAL RULES |
-forum will always apply its own procedural rules i) statutes of limitations: historically viewed as procedural by NY cts EXCEPTION #1 - borrowing statutes - apply the shorter period when looking at NY vs. Other (*except if P from NY, then NY applies own SOL) EXCEPTION #2: limitations that condition a substantive right - if the normal choice of law analysis leads to the application of a foreign statute that creates a substantive right, then apply the entire statute |
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DOMICILE BY CHOICE |
-domicile by choice: an individual w/domicile capacity acquires domicile when both satisfied: (i) physical presence in the state (ii) intent to remain there indefinitely |
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DOMICILE BY OPERATION OF LAW |
category #1: children (i) newborns assigned the domicile of their parents (ii) if divorce - children are assigned the domicile of their custodial parent category #2: incompetents (i) individual who is mentally incompetent assigned the domicile of his/her parents (ii) if someone becomes mentally incompetent after acquiring domicile by choice, he/she retains chosen domicile |
