General
Under the Erie Doctrine, a federal district court generally must apply...
- federal PROCEDURAL law; and
- state SUBSTANTIVE law!
States' conflict-of-law rules tend to favor applying their...
- OWN law!
*Remember: If a case is transferred, the law of the first court controls so long as the venue is PROPER.
What is inequitable administration of justice?
- situations where there is a different result in state and federal courts, so winning and losing turns on the accident of diversity of citizenship.
When does federal common law apply?
- when there are boundary disputes between states; and
- claim preclusion.
- state rules allocating burdens of proof on state claims;
- state rules governing choice of law; and
- statutes of limitations for state claims are examples of...
- STATE SUBSTANTIVE LAW!
Anything covered by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is...
- "procedure" for purposes of Erie - federal law applies!
*Even if the substance of the claim is governed by state law!
Example of what Erie was trying to avoid.
Ex. Plaintiff is deciding between federal and state court. If the decision involves choosing the court based on which has the more favorable rules, then we run into problems Erie was trying to avoid (forum shopping and inequitable admin. of justice)
Federal courts sometimes "borrow" state law but do so as a matter of federal common law. True or False?
- True!
In a diversity case, a federal court applies state ______ law!
- substantive!
If there is NO federal statute or rule on point, the court must determine whether to follow state law (substantive), or to follow...
- federal law (procedural)
What are (2) common applications of Erie?
- if the choice of the procedure would be outcome determinative, the federal court should apply state law to prevent forum shopping.
- the role of the jury in federal court is ENTIRELY controlled by federal law.
To determine applicable state law, precedent from the highest state court is followed. If there is no precedent, federal courts...
- predict how the highest state court would rule.
*federal courts give respectful attention to the decisions of lower state courts but they are not bound by them.
What is "conflict of laws"?
- the part of each state's law used in cases with connections to multiple states to determine which state's laws will determine the parties' rights.
What are the (2) aims of the Erie doctrine?
1.) to avoid forum shopping; and
2.) avoid inequitable administration of justice.
Judge-made federal law that overrides any inconsistent state or local law or rule.
*What is this?
- Federal common law
What is "choice of law"?
- more commonly refers to a federal court sitting in diversity determining whether state or federal law controls in a given issue.
What is forum shopping?
- situations in which parties have incentives to choose (or avoid) federal court based on perceived advantages and disadvantages of federal law v. state law.
Federal courts make federal common law ONLY when they encounter important federal interests that area NOT covered by...