Conflict of Laws - MEE
Preliminary points - ✔✔-Look for connections to multiple states
2 Testing areas:
1. Recognition of judgments
2. Choice of law
Two conditions for recognition of judgments - ✔✔1. Judgment rendered by court in RENDERING
jurisdiction
2. Party wants judgment recognized by court in RECOGNIZING jurisdiction
Why plaintiffs seek recognition - ✔✔-Access enforcement mechanisms in recognizing state
Why defendants seek recognition - ✔✔Prevent plaintiff from re-litigating claim or issue
Two-part analysis - ✔✔1. Was the rendering jurisdiction a sister state or a foreign country?
2. Is the judgment entitled to full faith and credit or comity?
Analysis for sister states - ✔✔1. Are the requirements of full faith and credit satisfied?
2. Are there any valid defenses? 100%
Analysis for foreign country - ✔✔Is the foreign judgment entitled to comity
Requirements for full faith and credit - ✔✔1. Jurisdiction (personal and subject matter)
2. Judgment must have been on the merits
3. Judgment must be final
Jurisdiction for full faith and credit - ✔✔CANNOT challenge jurisdiction if fully and fairly litigated
Usually only relevant if there was a default judgment in the other state, since the defendant would not
have challenged nor waived
Merits for full faith and credit - ✔✔NOT on the merits
-Time bars (statutory limitation)
-Lack of jurisdiction
-Misjoinder
-Improper venue
MAYBE on the merits
, -Failure to state a claim
ALWAYS on the merits
-Default judgment
-Settlement
Finality for full faith and credit - ✔✔NOT final
-Modifiable decrees
-Appeals (generally)
FINAL
-Past due payments on decrees
Who's law applies to if the three requirements of full faith and credit are satisfied? - ✔✔The
RENDERING state's law
VALID defenses available to full faith and credit - ✔✔-Penal judgments (plaintiff was the state) are
NOT enforced, unless tax judgment
-Judgment based on extrinsic fraud (fraud that could not be corrected during proceedings, like judge
was bribed)
100%
INVALID defenses available to full faith and credit - ✔✔-Public policy
-Misapplication of law
Questions asked when looking at comity - ✔✔1. Did the foreign court have Jurisdiction?
-Can take a fresh look at the jurisdiction argument
2. Were the foreign court procedures fair?
Identifying a choice of law question - ✔✔1. Connections to multiple states
2. Laws of the states are different and lead to different results
Which state's law governs? - ✔✔Law selected by forum court under its choice of law approach
EXCEPTION
Diversity cases: Federal court applies choice of law approach of state in which it sits OR choice of law
approach of original transferor court that was a proper venue
Constitutional restriction on choice of law - ✔✔Only unconstitutional if no significant contact or no
legitimate interest
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