Conflict of Laws Flashcards

A state constitutionally lacks authority to apply its own law to a dispute when:

Answer: It has no significant contacts or aggregation of contacts creating state interests with the parties or transaction

Under the Due Process and Full Faith and Credit Clauses, a state may not apply its law unless it has significant contacts with the parties or transaction creating state interests (Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts).

The Erie doctrine requires a federal court sitting in diversity to:

Answer: Apply the substantive law of the state in which the federal court sits

Under Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins, federal courts in diversity apply state substantive law (including that state's choice-of-law rules) and federal procedural law.

Under traditional conflict of laws principles, a decedent's personal property (movables) passes at death according to:

Answer: The law of the decedent's domicile at the time of death

Succession to movable property is governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death, while succession to immovable property is governed by the situs rule.

Under governmental interest analysis, when a 'false conflict' exists, the court should:

Answer: Apply the law of the only state that has a legitimate governmental interest in the outcome

A false conflict occurs when only one state has a real interest in the application of its law; the court should apply that state's law because there is no actual conflict.

Under the Second Restatement, the single most important factor in resolving contract choice-of-law issues absent a party agreement is:

Answer: The state with the most significant relationship to the transaction and the parties

Section 188 of the Second Restatement directs courts to apply the law of the state with the most significant relationship, evaluating place of contracting, negotiation, performance, subject matter, and domicile of the parties.

A default judgment rendered by State A is entitled to full faith and credit in State B if:

Answer: The defendant had minimum contacts with State A and received constitutionally adequate notice

A default judgment is valid — and entitled to full faith and credit — when the rendering court had personal jurisdiction (minimum contacts) and the defendant received notice satisfying due process.

The conflict of laws concept of 'dépecage' refers to:

Answer: Applying the laws of different states to separate issues within the same case

Dépecage is the practice of applying different states' laws to different issues in a single lawsuit, e.g., applying State A's law on liability but State B's law on damages.