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Conflict of Laws - Coggle Diagram
Conflict of Laws
Full faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution: Whether a judgment in one state is recognized by another state.
"Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every state."
A federal statute provides that this clause is extended to federal courts requiring recognition of judgments between state and federal courts and between federal courts
Defenses
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A public policy exception is no longer recognized. Thus, even if the first action in the rendering state could not have been brought under the recognizing state's law as it was against that state's public policy, the recognizing state has to enforce it
Effects
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Res judicata
Operates the same in the recognizing state as it does in the rendering state. Both parties and those in privity with those parties are bound, the recognizing court can enforce the judgment against them. Parties in privity include beneficiaries, holders of future interests, successors in interest, and all persons represented in a class action
Requirements
Proper jurisdiction
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If jurisdiction was fully and fairly litigated in the original action, the defendant cannot have that determination relitigated in the recognizing state. Why? The litigated issue has already been determined. That determination is subject to full faith and credit itself
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Judgment must be final - no further action by the rendering court is needed to resolve the litigation
Family law judgments
Full faith and credit applies to divorce judgments as long as one of the spouses is domiciled in the rendering state. Domicile is determined by physical presence and intent to be domiciled.
Child custody is governed by reciprocal statutes adopted by all 50 states. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act determines which state is the "home state" of the child and all other states must give full faith and credit to that judgment
The home state retains jurisdiction and no other court may modify that order unless the rendering court has no remaining significant connection with the child or any parties in the dispute. Similarly, the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act provides that each state must enforce child support orders made consistently with this statute by a court of another state
Choice of Law Approaches: Deciding what law applies to an ongoing case when two or more potential jurisdictions' laws apply is determined by the choice of law approach used by the forum trying the case.
Essay questions may ask you to analyze the issue under each choice of law approach or to analyze under a single approach
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