The authors of the sixteenth edition are proud of the book's
heritage, which dates to 1936. At the same time, they are mindful
of the needs of students and professors addressing the Conflict of
Laws eight decades later. We continue to add the subtitle "Private
International Law" to acknowledge the more common title of the
subject outside the U.S., as well as to alert students that they
will face a blend of domestic and international issues once they
become lawyers. As an intellectual matter, the conflicts course
presents rich and nuanced doctrine. As a professional matter, every
litigator will face issues raised in this course. As a practical
matter, an increasing number of students are drawn to the course
because it is tested on the bar exam in every state that has
adopted the universal bar exam or the multistate essay exam. The
authors recognize the need, therefore, to provide appropriate
review of civil procedure to allow the student to transition to the
study of conflicts. A modern conflicts casebook must be flexible.
Some professors will choose to cover a great deal of international
and comparative law. Others, however, will prefer to address
conflicts only in the domestic sphere. This edition fully supports
either (or some middle) approach. The professor may comfortably
choose how much international and comparative material to cover
without losing transition or context. Some highlights of the
sixteenth edition: Chapter 2, concerning domicile, remains
succinct, intended to drive home the significance of domicile and
the complementary concept of habitual residence, including a new
note on domicile and devolution of real property. Notes have been
added on the notion of derivative domicile and occasional confusion
in statutes referring to "residence" rather than "domicile."
Chapter 3, concerning personal jurisdiction, has been honed in
response to recent doctrinal shifts. The Supreme Court's
contraction of general jurisdiction has led to an increasing focus
on the "relatedness" aspect of specific jurisdiction. The Chapter
reflects this trend. One subsection traces the development of
doctrine from 1980-2014, with World-Wide Volkswagen, Burger King,
and Asahi as note cases setting up J. McIntyre as the principal
case. The next subsection traces the retraction of general
jurisdiction, with notes on Perkins and Goodyear setting up Daimler
as the principal case. The next subsection emphasizes the emergent
importance in specific jurisdiction of being able to show that the
plaintiff's claim relates sufficiently to the defendant's contact.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is one principal case, followed by the state
case Moki-Mac, which is a wonderful vehicle for addressing whether
the relatedness inquiry requires consideration of causation and, if
so, what sort of causation is relevant. The latter point sets up
Supreme Court decisions in the Ford Motor Company cases, which were
handed down as the book went to press and are addressed in an
Update Memorandum. Chapter 4 pulls together everything that bears
on limiting a court's exercise of jurisdiction that it otherwise
has. This includes forum selection agreements in interstate and
international transactions, antisuit injunctions, dismissals (or
denials of motions to dismiss) in cases of parallel litigation (lis
pendens) or on the ground of forum non conveniens, and federal
transfer. Chapter 5 treats a number of questions often not
addressed in depth in the first-year procedure course. For
instance: what is a "judgment" for purposes of recognition -
administrative decrees, equity decrees, modifiable support orders?
How conclusive is a judgment on a second court - comparing res
judicata (Treinies) in the interstate setting with the 2010 SPEECH
Act requiring review of foreign country awards for libel? Does
public policy play a different role in the case of foreign than in
interstate judgments? Can non-parties benefit or be bound: what
about "virtual representation" or non-mutual collateral estoppel?
What are the mechanisms for the recognition and enforcement of
domestic and of foreign-country judgments in the United States?
Chapter 6, concerning the impact of the Constitution, has been
streamlined to enhance teachability. Chapters 7 and 8 present the
central themes of choice of law. Chapter 7 deals with many of the
classical puzzles of choice of law such as the public policy
reservation and renvoi. Chapter 8 was considerably revised in the
fifteenth edition to show the progression from the traditional
system, to the height of the conflicts revolution, to a developing
consensus to consolidate modern analysis in a manner that provides
more predictability and certainty. This edition shortens Chapter 8
somewhat to place more emphasis on the most modern developments and
discusses important provisions of the draft Third Restatement.
Chapter 8 is also divided into several subsections, allowing the
teacher freedom to omit portions of it if desired. Chapter 9
addresses conflicts problems in the domestic and international
settings. In keeping with the overall theme of flexibility, the
professor may assign specific sections to engage a greater or
lesser degree of review of Erie as well as a greater or lesser
degree of international coverage. Chapters 10 through 13 cover
particular subjects such a property, family law, and corporate law
for professors who desire to go into these subjects in more depth.
Recent changes in the law particularly affect Chapter 11 on Family
Law. That chapter first briefly explores the place of celebration
rule (also with respect to religious marriages), treats same-sex
marriages and registered unions in the light of Obergefell with
particular reference to property and inheritance interests, updates
the material on divorce (including religious divorces), expands the
treatment of child custody and of interstate and international
child abduction, and updates the enforcement of maintenance
obligations under interstate uniform law and the Hague Convention
in international cases. Finally, a Documentary Appendix provides
the principal legislative acts of the European Union with respect
to jurisdiction in civil, divorce, and custody matters as well as
with respect to choice of law in contract, tort, and divorce, in
each case with extensive textual commentary. Textual material
briefly addresses the effect of "Brexit" on EU - UK relations in
these matters and summarizes other EU texts, such as the succession
regulation. Notes in the main text refer to these materials,
allowing an instructor to teach the material comparatively or to
focus only on American law. The European materials also all lend
themselves for use in a seminar.
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