Choice of Law

Supreme Court decides Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation

The Supreme Court today unanimously held in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation that state choice-of-law rules apply in cases brought against foreign sovereigns alleging non-federal claims.

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Choice-of-Law Methodologies: Updating the List

This is an update of the list of choice-of-law methodologies followed in the United States. The changes are: (1) the abandonment of the lex loci contractus rule by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island in 2022, and (2) the enactment of a new choice-of-law codification by Puerto Rico in 2020.

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Climate Change Litigation and the “Foreign Affairs” Trump Card

Factory with smoke stakes

Having found the federal courts unfriendly to climate-related claims, a series of plaintiffs—mostly state and municipal governments—have sued fossil fuel companies under state law often in state court. Oil company defendants resisting these claims have argued that federal law, not state law, should govern. For cases filed in state court, defendants also have sought to remove the cases to federal court, asserting federal jurisdiction on various theories.

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Throwback Thursday: Choice-of-Law Clauses Through the Lens of Contract

The academic literature on choice-of-law clauses may be usefully sorted into three boxes. Articles in the first box seek to ascertain when, exactly, the courts will enforce these clauses. This body of literature looks to case decisions, treatises, statutes, and works such as the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws in an attempt to determine…

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A Primer on Choice-of-Law Clauses

A choice-of-law clause is a contract provision that selects the law to govern the contract and claims relating to the contract.

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A Primer on Forum Selection Clauses

A forum selection clause is a contractual provision that selects a specific court to resolve disputes. When suit is filed in a court that is not the chosen forum, the clause may provide a basis for dismissal or transfer. When suit is filed in the chosen forum, the clause may provide a basis for the…

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A Primer on Extraterritoriality

Extraterritoriality refers to the application of a state’s law beyond the state’s borders. Although the word “extraterritorial” often has negative connotations, international law permits a great deal of extraterritorial regulation. In a world where trade, information, crime, and lots of other things regularly cross borders, states often have an interest in regulating beyond the strict…

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Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk

Vanderbilt Law School
ingrid.wuerth@vanderbilt.eduEmail

William Dodge

George Washington University Law School
william.dodge@law.gwu.eduEmail

Maggie Gardner

Cornell Law School
mgardner@cornell.eduEmail

John F. Coyle

University of North Carolina School of Law
jfcoyle@email.unc.eduEmail

Zachary D. Clopton

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
zclopton@law.northwestern.eduEmail

Robin Effron

Brooklyn Law School
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Scott Dodson

UC Law – San Francisco
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Aaron D. Simowitz

Willamette University College of Law
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Hannah Buxbaum

Indiana University Maurer School of Law
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Paul MacMahon

LSE Law School
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Satjit Singh Chhabra

Khaitan and Co
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Keshav Somani

Khaitan and Co.
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Kartikey Mahajan

Khaitan and Co.
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Paul B. Stephan

University of Virginia School of Law
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Caroline Spencer

Vanderbilt Law School
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