Wed. Apr. 9

Durfee v Duke (US 1963)

Clarke v. Clarke (US 1900)

Fall v Eastin (US 1909)

Baker v Gen Motors (US 1998)

Assume that in Michigan state court General Motors had brought a declaratory judgment action against the Bakers to determine whether Ewell could testify in any suit they might bring. What result?

African-American applicants to a fire dept sue the department The court enters a decree for an affirmative action program in hiring Subsequently white applicants to the fire department sue the department challenging the program Are they precluded?

Anglo-Am Provision v Davis (US 1903) NY ct allowed to refuse suit on foreign judgment between 2 foreign corps when judgment arose from cause of action arising out of state

Kenney v Supreme Lodge (US 1920) Ill ct refused jurisdiction for suit on Alabama wrongful death judgment against an Illinoisan basis was statute forbidding actions for death outside state

“Full faith and credit, however, does not mean that States must adopt the practices of other States regarding the time, manner, and mechanisms for enforcing judgments. Enforcement measures do not travel with the sister state judgment as preclusive effects do; such measures remain subject to the even-handed control of forum law.”

“Orders commanding action or inaction have been denied enforcement in a sister State when they purported to accomplish an official act within the exclusive province of that other State or interfered with litigation over which the ordering State had no authority.”

same-sex marriage and full faith and credit

why aren’t marriages judgments?

Assume all credit card contracts with Citibank are entered into before a justice of the peace in South Dakota, which has no anti- usury law Must all states recognize the validity of the contracts, no matter what their usury law is?

Assume two Californians get into a marriage in Louisiana, which has covenant marriage – which does not allow a subsequent divorce They then return to California Is a California court prohibited from allowing them to get divorced?

DOMA: No State … shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State … respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State…or right or claim arising from such relationship.

In MA, D (a domiciliary of VA) injures X (a domiciliary of MA, who is in a same-sex marriage with P). P sues D in MA and gets a judgment for loss of consortium. May a VA ct refuse to recognize the judgment under DOMA?

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

same-sex divorce

Chambers v. Ormiston (R.I. 2007)