纽约州冲突法 NEW YORK CONFLICTS

1、NEW YORK CONFLICTSTHE CONFLICTS ROAD MAP, or heres where were heading.1.Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments2.Domicile3. Choice of Law1 RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTSThe state handing down the judgment is the rendering state. The state called upon to recognize and enforce the judgment

2、is the recognizing state.1.1 SISTER STATE JUDGMENTS# Two-Part Test:(a) Judgement must meet Full Faith and Credit Requirements(1) Valid jurisdiction in the rendering court over both the parties and the subject matter of the litigation.(2) The judgment was a final judgment. Modifiable judgment is not

3、a final judgment and gets no full faith and credits, can only be enforced under the principle of comity, except future alimony and child support (Judgments for amounts already accrued and in arrears are considered final judgements).-hypo: the alimony and child support is final judgment , but only fo

4、r the one year accrued but not paid.(3) Judgment must have been rendered on the merits, including default judgment and consent judgment. A judgment for the defendant that does not involve substance of Ps claim is not on the merits.(b) No Valid Defense(1) Valid defense include penal judgment and extr

5、insic fraud (e.g., bribing judge), court will not enforce this kind of judgement Penal judgment is Judgment rendered for an offense against the public. -E.g: criminal sanction or civil fine. Winner must be the government, not a private person or entity Intrinsic fraud is fraud that could have been d

6、ealt with during the litigation and it is NOT a good defense to full faith and credit, perjury. Extrinsic fraud if fraud that could not have been coped with in the earlier trial, e.g., corrupt judge.(2) “Non-defenses”: Wont work but you must talk about them if they appear in the facts . a) tax judgm

7、ent (are penal, TODAY OKAY)b) Based on a cause of action that violates forums public policy , c) mistakes by the judge in the earlier trial,i. The remedy for such mistakes is to appeal the incorrect judgment, it is too late to raise the issue at the recognition of judgements stage.d) inconsistent ju

8、dgments i. later judgement can be enforced even though it is inconsistent with a valid earlier one.enforce the last judgment in time.1.2 FOREIGN COUNTRY JUDGMENTS# To enforce a foreign country judgment, a two-part comity test need to be satisfied:1. Jurisdiction must have been proper, and2. Fair pro

9、cedures must have been used in the foreign country proceeding-recognizing states lawv To determine whether the foreign country judgment meets this test use recognizing states law, and this means that states ideas of due process: Were there enough contacts with the litigation or the parties to make j

10、urisdiction fair1.3 SPECIAL SITUATION: FAMILY LAW JUDGMENTS(a) Recognition and enforcement of family law judgments involves consideration of jurisdiction, both subject-matter and personal. v Three types of judgments, each with its own jurisdictional requirements:a. The termination of the marital sta

11、tus, that is, the divorce decreeb. Property awards, such as alimony and child supportc. Child custody awards(1) Divorce: proper subject-matter jurisdiction and at least one spouse is domiciled in the state rendering the divorce. Ex-parte divorce: only one spouse is validly domiciled where the divorc

12、e is granted, the other spouse is neither domiciled nor subject to personal jurisdiction there. Okay Bi-lateral divorce: only one spouse is validly domiciled where the divorce is granted, and both spouses are subject to personal jurisdiction there. Consent divorce, where both want out of the marriag

13、e and go together somewhere to get it (i.e., the “quickie” divorce)not valid. Because no valid domicile of either. So for any kind of divorce to be valid there must be a valid domicile of at one of the parties to give the necessary subject-matter jurisdiction# PROCEDURAL MATTERS ON DIVORCES Burden o

14、f proof: the attacker bears the burden of proof and can introduce any relevant evidence whatever, even if the evidence came into existence after the divorce was granted. Any interested person who is not estopped can attack a divorce decree for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. NOTE: Watch out for

15、 the four basic situations on estoppel; in each of these situations plaintiff is estopped:D Where the attacker was subject to personal jurisdiction in the earlier proceeding, thus the spouse in a bi-lateral divorce cannot later attack that divorce.D Where the attacker may not have been subject to pe

16、rsonal jurisdiction in the earlier proceeding, but the attacker played a meaningful role in the granting of the divorce. D Persons who are in privity with a party to the divorce. This includes children from the marriage. Hypo: buy airplane ticket.D A spouse who has remarried in reliance on the earli

17、er divorce.(2) PROPERTY AWARDS (e.g. alimony and child support) A court granting alimony or child support must have personal jurisdiction over the spouse whose property rights are in issue.(3) CHILD CUSTODY DECREE Valid jurisdiction for determining child custody lies only in the childs home state.#

18、FAMILY LAW JURISDICTION IN A NUTSHELL: For divorce: subject-matter jurisdictionvalid domicile of at least one party. For property awards (alimony, child support): personal jurisdiction over the spouse whose rights are being determined. For child custody: personal jurisdiction over the childthat is,

19、the childs home state.# THE DIVISIBLE DIVORCE DOCTRINE: If a decree has some parts that are good and some that are bad, you keep the good and ignore the rest; this is called the divisible divorce doctrine.2 DOMICILE2.1 Four ways domicile might appear on the exam:(a) Domicile of the decedent is used

20、to choose the law to be applied to determine intestate succession of personal property (in contrast, real property determined by situs).(b) Domicile at death determines which state gets estate taxes.(c) Domicile of an individual gives subject-matter jurisdiction for a divorce.(d) Domicile is very im

21、portant when applying New York choice of law rules.2.2 DOMICILE OF CHOICE(a) Legal capacity is needed to make a domicile of choice. The standard: the ability to fend for yourself. v This is different from legal capacity in contract. This is a low standard. If you do not have legal capacity to get a

22、domicile of choice, one will be assigned to you. (b) Two-part test to establish a domicile of choice:(1) Physical presence in that state, which can be a very short time.(2) Intent to remain for the foreseeable future, that is, indefinitely (actions speak louder than words).(c) A person can have only

23、 one domicile. Once obtained, a domicile of choice is kept until another one is acquired.v A died on the way to move to state C.His domicile is still state A.(d) The motive for going to another state to acquire a domicile is irrelevant.2.3 DOMICILE BY OPERATION OF LAW(a) If a person has no legal cap

24、acity to acquire a domicile of choice that person will be assigned one by operation of law.(b) Only two situations to remember for the exam:(1) Domicile of a child: a. if the child does not have legal capacity to get a domicile of choice, the child will have the domicile of the childs parents. b. If

25、 parents are divorced, domicile is that of the parent who has physical custody.(2) Domicile of a married woman living apart from her husband in a different state: married woman can obtain a domicile of choice, just like anyone else (presence and intent). Old rule: married woman had the domicile of h

26、er husband3 CHOICE OF LAW3.1 CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS(a) Constitutional considerations: due process and full faith and credit(b) The state chosen must have a significant contact or contacts with the parties or the subject matter of the litigation which gives it a legitimate interests in seeing its

27、 law applied(c) Test: significant contact giving legitimate interest(1) No weighing of the interests of the states is needed; as long as a state meets the test then its law can be applied. a) Misconduct of CAs taxing agency to Nevadas residents, claiming big interest. Constitutional. because Nevada

28、did have a legitimate interest in seeing applying its own law.Has an interest in the welfare of the residents(2) Note two situations that do not meet the test: If, after the event in question, someone moved to a new state, and that move creates the only contact with that state, then it would be unco

29、nstitutional to apply that states law. If the only contact with the parties or the litigation is that the suit is brought in that state, then it would be unconstitutional to apply that states law.3.2 VESTED RIGHTS APPROACH TO CHOICE OF LAW# The traditional system, also called the territorial approac

30、h. Now the governmental interest approach.(a) Under the vested rights approach, the law to be applied is the law where the rights of the plaintiff vested.(b) There was a rule for each area of the law.(1) Torts: the instant a cause of action arises plaintiffs rights become vested, so the vested right

31、s rule would say to apply the law of the place where the injury occurred, or the place of the injury.(2) Contracts: rights under a contract vest at the moment the contract is made, so the vested rights rule would say to apply the law of the place of making of the contract.(c) Two things to note abou

32、t the vested rights approach:(1) It had a rule for every area of the law.(2) The rules were all territorial rules, pointing to a single place.(d) Most vested rights rules were fairly clear and easy to apply, BUT they may wind up pointing to a state that has absolutely no policy interest in the outco

33、me of the litigation.3.3 INTEREST ANAYLSIS APPROACH TO CHOICE OF LAW(a) The five step Babcock approach to interest analysis:(1) List the factual contacts with each state.(2) Note the different state laws in issue.(3) Find out the policies underlying each states law by consulting legislative history

34、and court decisions.# Exam shortcut: Who is the law designed to protect - find out which states law would favor the plaintiff and which would favor the defendant.(4) Take the facts and relate them to the policy to see if the state has an interest in seeing its law applied.# Exam shortcut: does the p

35、arty being favored by a states law reside in that state? If so, that state has an interest. HYPO: state A favors D, but D has no connection with state A,NY favors P, P and D are residents of NY. Ny has an interest.(5) Apply the law of the state with the greatest governmental interest in the outcome.

36、 To do this last step you must see which of four categories the conflict fits in: False conflict: where only one state has an interest in having its law applied? If so, you apply the law of the only jurisdiction with an interest in the outcome of the litigation. True conflict: where two or more of t

37、he states involved have an interest in the litigation, and one of them is the forum state. If you have a true conflict you will presume that you will apply the law of the forum state, unless the interest of the other state is much greater. Disinterested forum case: where two or more states have an i

38、nterest in having their law applied and the forum is not one of them. In a disinterested forum case a New York court can do one of two things: (i) apply the law that is closest to New York law, or (ii) apply the better law. Unprovided-for case: where no state has an interest in applying its own law

39、New York law.v If no state has an interest in seeing its law applied we have an unprovided-for case, and the courts most often will just apply forum law.(b) SPECIFIC AREAS (1) Torts: use the 5-step Babcock test PLUS the additional three rules of Neumeier*: Neumeier Rule One (Same Domicile Rule): whe

40、n the plaintiff and defendant are domiciled in the same state, that states law will be applied. Neumeier Rule Two: when the plaintiff and defendant are domiciled in different states, then if the law of the place where the accident occurred helps its citizen, that states law will be applied. Neumeier

41、 Rule Three: when the plaintiff and defendant are domiciled in different jurisdictions and the law of the place where the accident occurred does not help its citizen, then you still apply the law of the place of the injury unless the other jurisdiction has a greater interest in the outcome (and the

42、place is totally fortuitous). #Neumeier in a Nutshell: Apply the law of the place of the injury unless both parties live some place else.# in Neumeier Three, while Loss Distribution Rules - Most torts rules are loss distribution rules, those that determine which party will bear the loss. Apply the B

43、abcock/Neumeier analysis to all loss distribution rules. Rules Regulating Conduct (rule of the road) - For all rules regulating conduct, apply the law of the place of the injury. *Step-by-step method to use on the exam in a torts case:1. Is the law a rule regulating conduct or a rule on loss distrib

44、ution?2. If a rule regulating conduct, apply the law of the place of injury.3. If a rule on loss distribution discuss the Babcock 5-step method and the 3 Neumeier rules and apply the law of the state indicated.(2) Contracts Ability of the parties to choose the law in the contract:D Parties can alway

45、s choose any law in the contract for matters of contract construction.D Parties can also choose the law to govern matters of contract validity provided three things exist:(i)the choice cant be contrary to a fundamental policy of a state with a greater interest than the chosen state. (ii) there must

46、be a substantial relationship to the parties or the transaction.(iii)the choice must be free of duress, i.e., not a contract of adhesion# New York Special Statute on Large ContractsD For a contract price at $250,000 or more, the parties can choose New York law even if the contract has no connection

47、with New York at all.D For a contract price no less than $1,000,000 (one million) and the parties choose New York law in the contract, then the parties may also put in a clause specifying that New York may be the forum, and courts are prohibited from dismissing under forum non conveniens. Choice of

48、law if parties dont choose the law in the contract: D New York has abandoned the old vested rights rule in contracts (place of making) in favor of interest analysis in the Babcock 5-step test.(significant relationship test)D When interest analysis is applied to contracts we call the state chosen the

49、 state with the most significant relationship to the contract. Special rule for insurance contracts: all issues regarding the rights and duties under an insurance policy are determined by the state where the policy is written. -This is not an exception just that when you are dealing with the insuran

50、ce policy the state where the policy is written has the most significant relationship to the contract.(3) Real PropertyJust one rule: the law of the situs of the property governs, that is, the law of the place where the property is located.(4) Personal PropertyFor every situation but one, use the sa

51、me situs rule as for real property - if the issue is the passing of personal property by intestate succession, the state chosen is the state of the deceaseds domicile at death.(5) InheritanceA non-New York domiciliary can choose New York law in a will to apply to the disposition of New York assets.

52、This applies in all situations, even when it would oust a wife from an elective share.(6) Family Law General Rule: if a marriage is valid where performed, it is valid everywhere. Exception: if a marriage would violate the strong public policy of a state then it may not be recognized even though it was valid where performed. Marriages void where performed are void everywhere, BUT if a marriage is void because it failed to comply with some technical requirement of the state where performed can still be recognized in New York IF it would have complied with