Website of professor ira steven nathenson, director of the intellectual property certificate program at st. Further reflections on the erie doctrine from a conflicts perspective. Heres how antislapp laws can conflict with the rules. The discouragement of forum shopping and avoidance of inequitable administration of the laws yes yes 2. If statutory interpretation methodologies affect the outcomes of cases and state courts give them stare decisis effect, does erie require federal courts to use state interpretation methodologies when applying state. Erie doctrine and choice of law history of the erie.
The reign of swift was terminated by the supreme courts decision in erie r. Plumer, if a state law conflicts with a valid federal rule, the federal rule controls. The erie doctrine picjur erie doctrine, law school. The erie doctrine is a fundamental legal doctrine of civil procedure in the united states which mandates that a federal court called upon to resolve a dispute not directly implicating a federal question most commonly when sitting in diversity jurisdiction, but also when applying supplemental jurisdiction to claims factually related to a federal question or in an adversary. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. Examples is the federal proc edural common law rule contrary to a state law rule that is bound up with the statelaw cause of action. Except in matters governed by the united states constitution or act of congress, the law that is to be applied in any case is the law of the state. Part iv proposes that the erie doctrine requires federal courts to continue to enforce contractual jury waivers under federal law. This article concerns the unexplored role that the erie doctrine has in limiting the power of state courts. Erie doctrine and choice of law choice of law lawshelf. This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that.
Plank, th e erie doctrine and bankruptcy hte e as e. The erie doctrine applies because there is a conflict between federal and state law. This section identifies each jurisdiction that has adopted the doctrine and documents the circumstances and conditions required for its application on a statebystate basis. As with the erie doctrine, the court must determine which jurisdictions laws to apply in a particular case first, it is important to note that a choice of law scenario can arise in. This is the second of two posts about the erie doctrine, antislapp laws, and the federal rules of civil procedure. Introduction erie, that delightful doctrine which kept us on the edge of our seats in law school, has a way of resurfacing in the most unexpected of places, often just when we had nearly forgotten it.
Supreme court commanded that federal law govern the seventh amendment right to a jury trial. Further reflections on the erie doctrine from a conflicts perspective, 86 notre dame. This short essay considers the hannstar and silver cases and begins a discussion of the impact that the erie doctrine hasand, more importantly, ought to haveon privilege law. If the outof state plaintiff wished to take advantage of the state rule, she would file in. The erie doctrine does not mandate that state law be applied in determinations of rights regardless of conflict with federal law and the. The website includes numerous study resources for civil procedure and ip as well as information on our certificate program. In july of 1934 defendant visited his motherinlaws house in pen. Model answer to sample erie question is the illinois statue in direct conflict with either rule 17b or rule a. Tompkins, a federal court must follow state supreme court decisions when interpreting state law.
It mandates that a federal court must apply state substantive law in diversity jurisdiction cases. Byrd was judgejury relationship which outweighed outcome determinacy. Modern erie doctrine generally invokes the following tests depending on the circumstances of individual cases. In the course of construction unresolved disputes arose, which resulted in wesley withholding. Plank 633 642 642 645 649 652 bankruptcy courts and other federal courts in bankruptcy wield considerable power in our society.
The right of a drawee to recover from one who presents for payment a check upon which the endorsement of the payee was forged accrues when the payment is made. First, it is important to note that a choice of law scenario can arise in state court while the application of the erie doctrine is limited to disputes in the federal courts. The erie doctrine is usually understood as a limitation on federal courts power. And what does it mean for the contemporary politics of judicial federalism. It merely declares that, by applying the doctrine of that case.
The following is a complete flowchart for erie problems. Erie, the class action fairness act, and some federalism implications of diversity jurisdiction david marcus abstract the class action fairness act of 2005 cafa expands diversity jurisdiction to allow most significant class actions based on state law to proceed in federal court. Thus, when a federal court asserts jurisdiction over pendent state law claims through the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction in. Review of civil procedure ii, professor ira steven nathenson. This article presents a straightforward argument that the erie doctrine may. If it is, the court must apply the hannarea line of cases. Erie doctrine difference in substantive and procedural civpro. The erie doctrine, named after the supreme court case erie railroad co.
Moreover, the exercise of jurisdiction in diversity cases furthered and continues to further these interests in similar ways, by limiting the regulatory reach of state law. While the nuances of the rule make it one of the most confusing topics studied in civil procedure, its basic principles are relatively straightforward. Tompkins 9 discarded nearly a century of federal diversity decisions based on the 1842 case of swift v. Erie, the class action fairness act during the decades before erie, match the presentday interests that diversity jurisdiction advances. Federal question claim if the action is a federal question claim, federal substantive and procedural law will control. The erie doctrine and state conflict of laws rules digital. The erie doctrine is a fundamental legal doctrine in civil procedure. An issue that clearly addresses legal rights is substantive and is to be resolved according to state law.
What the clearfield doctrine is saying is that when private commercial paper is used by corporate government, then government loses its sovereignty status and becomes no different than a mere private corporation. To see the first post, which covered antislapp laws and the conflict with rules 12 and 56 of the frcp, click here. Clearfield doctrine goldismoney, the premier gold and. B conflicts with the state law or policy which does not violate the rea see rea below.
Reverse erie, its cases, its theories, and its future with plausibility pleading in alaska by philip a. We agree with the circuit court of appeals that the rule of erie r. Reinert courts and commentators have assumed that the erie doctrine, while originating in diversity cases, applies in all cases whatever the basis for federal jurisdiction. Sample erie question professor arthur wesley a citizen of illinois made an agreement with cranmer co. The architecture of concurrent jurisdiction and the erie doctrine. Tompkins 1938, a landmark decision by the supreme court of the united states in which the court held that federal courts did not have the judicial power to create general federal common law when hearing state law claims under diversity jurisdiction. It proposes a theory that reconciles the reasoning of justice brandeis erie opinion with the subsequent evolution of the erie doctrine and federal judicial power generally.
The drawee, whether it be the united states or another, is not chargeable with the knowledge of the signature of the payee. While erie is considered by many as one of the modern cornerstones of our federalism, the doctrine is important too for the change it can effect through the cross pollination of ideas among. As will be evident, i am considerably more sympathetic to this mythology, as i think erie. If there is no conflict, then under erie, the court should apply state rules that are substantive enough to affect the outcome of the case. An essay on whats wrong with the recent erie decisions earl c. The erie doctrine picjur with images erie doctrine. The erie doctrine is a fundamental legal doctrine of civil procedure in the united states which. The bulk of this part will outline and defend the proposed rule. What is the erie doctrine and what does it mean for. Atkins as a modification of the erie doctrine emergence and development of the erie doctrine the decision in erie railroad co.
If statutory interpretation methodologies affect the outcomes of cases and state courts give them stare decisis effect, does erie require federal courts to use state. The erie doctrine requires federal courts sitting in diversity jurisdiction to apply state substantive law if applying federal law would change the outcome of the case. This flowchart will help you go through the pleading phase in civ pro. Here is a new one covering subject matter jx and erie. In a conflicts scenario, the laws of two or more states are evoked, and there must be a significant difference in the outcome of the case based on which law is applied. Federal countervailing interests for fed law always have uniformity, but weak on its own. The latest versions of adobe reader do not support viewing pdf files within firefox on mac os and if you are using. Like the erie doctrine, the choice of law rules sometimes referred to as conflicts of laws focus on the selection of one jurisdictions laws over those of another jurisdiction in a particular lawsuit.
This article thus provides a coherent doctrinal framework for considering the challenges erie may face in the years to come. Heres a coggle flowchart for the erie doctrine and related issues such as rea analysis. Erie itself commanded that federal courts apply state substantive law, rather than. If neither frcp is read to conflict with the state statute, the erierda cases. Daly and michael metztopodas all nine supreme court justices agree that aggregating statutory damages in a class action can result in ruinous liability. The substanceversusprocedure test serves as a firststage screening device in erie analysis. The doctrine of preclusion is a departure from the general attitude of the rules. Courts and commentators have assumed that the erie doctrine, while. The erie doctrine is a topic that every firstyear law student must experience and grapple with. This section identifies each jurisdiction that has adopted the doctrine and documents the circumstances and conditions required for its application on a. Erie, the class action fairness act, and some federalism. Civil procedure outline erie doctrine abridged erie in diversity cases in federal court, the court must apply federal procedural law but state substantive law, including statecreated common lawmostly.
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