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Conflict of Laws

Terms in this set (26)

Conflict of Laws Issue Recognition
Action touches more than one state
Laws of states differ on the issue
Forum state needs to choose between the laws
Constitutional Test
State whose law is chosen must have a significant contact or aggregation of contacts, creating state interests, such that choice of its law is neither arbitrary nor fundamentally unfair. (contacts and interest in outcome)
Vested Rights Approach
Characterize the Area of Law of the Claim and Issue
Apply the Rule for that Area of Law and Issue
Vested Rights Rule for Torts
Law of the place where the action took place that caused the injury.
Vested Rights Rule for Contracts
Law of the place where the contract was formed or was to be performed.
Vested Rights Rule for Procedure
Law of the Forum Jurisdiction.
Interest Analysis Approach
Presumes the forum will apply its own law, but will examine the policies of the two states upon request.

Identify the Policies
Identify the State Interests
False Conflict under Interest Analysis
Application of the state's law would not advance its interests in passing the law.

Application of one law would not frustrate the policy objectives of the other state's law.
Method of Resolving True Conflicts under Interest Analysis
Apply the law of the forum
Disinterested Forum
when forum state determines it has no interest, but that two other states have competing interests

Court chooses the state's closes to forum's law or the better of the two laws. (May also dismiss for forum nonconviens)
Unprovided-For Case
no state has a legit interest in having its law apply
Most Significant Relationship (2d Restatement)
Most significant to the party and the transaction based on controlling principles and relevant contacts
Controlling Principles under Most Significant Relationship Approach
the relevant policies of the forum and other interested states and the relative interests of those states in the determination of the particular issue (interest analysis);

the protection of justified expectations;

the basic policies underlying the particular field of law;

certainty, predictability, and uniformity of result; and

the ease of determining and applying the law chosen.
Relevant Contacts under Most Significant Relationship Approach
Torts - location of injury and conduct; parties' domicile

Contracts - place of formation, location of subject matter, domicile, place of business
General Rule for Laws Regulating Conduct
Always apply the law of the place where the conduct took place (analysis varies, but result is the same)
General Rule for Laws Allocating Loss
Likely to raise a true conflict. Likely to default to the location of the injury.
Choice of Law Clause Validity
If the issue had full freedom of contract on the issue, then the clause is enforceable (gap filler).

Otherwise, invalid if the state has no relationship to the contract or parties and the fundamental public policy of the forum is not violated.
Location of Contract Formation
The place where the irretrievable acceptance took place
General Rule when the Issue Relates to the Performance of a Contract
Apply the law of the place of performance (if title to land, then where the land is located).
General Rule for Statute of Limitations
Likely to raise a false conflict.
General Rule for Real Property
Law of the state where the property is located
General Rule for Wills
If real property, location governs

If personal property, domicile governs
General Rule for Corporations
Internal affairs (creation, dissolution, liability of officers and directors to shareholders) governed by state of incorporation (ensures consistency and protects justified expectations)

External affairs will be tort based or contract based.
General Rule for Marriages
If a marriage would violate a prohibitary rule, then it will not be recognized.
Principles that Exclude the Application of Foreign (inlcudign interstate) Law
Violative of State's fundamental public policy

Penal and Tax laws - under vested rights foreign law is never allowed, under 2nd restatement regular analysis
Full Faith and Credit to Foreign Government Decisions
State law applies unless a treaty applies
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