Opinion ID: 3029577
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Contacts and Interests Analysis

Text: If a true conflict exists, the Court must then determine which state has the “greater interest in the application of its law.” Cipolla, 267 A.2d at 856. In Melville, we described the Griffith methodology as a combination of the “approaches of both [the] Restatement II (contacts establishing significant relationships) and ‘interests analysis’ (qualitative appraisal of the relevant States’ policies with respect to the controversy).” 584 F.2d at 1311.11 This analysis requires more than a “mere the states in having their laws applied. Id. Although this was an appropriate assessment of New Jersey choice-of-law rules, we think Pennsylvania precedent dictates a different conclusion. In Lebegern, we emphasized that the New Jersey Supreme Court initiated its conflict analysis by “review[ing] the substance of the laws” and determining whether they differed. Id. at 430. “It was not until the second prong of the governmental interest test - assessing the interests of each jurisdiction - that the New Jersey Supreme Court entered into an in-depth discussion of the impact of the respective states’ underlying policy goals and intent.” Id. By contrast, in Cipolla, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asked whether the interests of both states were implicated at the outset of the choice-of-law inquiry. After deciding that they were, the court proceeded to conduct a “deeper analysis.” 267 A.2d at 856. Thus, under Pennsylvania precedent, we think the issue of a “false conflict” (defined in terms of states’ interests in seeing their laws enforced) should be treated as a threshold matter. 11 We later reaffirmed this formulation of Griffith in Carrick v. Zurich-American Ins. Group, 14 F.3d 907 (3d Cir. 1994), 19 counting of contacts.” Cipolla, 267 A.2d at 856. “Rather, we must weigh the contacts on a qualitative scale according to their relation to the policies and interests underlying the [particular] issue.” Shields v. Consol. Rail Corp., 810 F.2d 397, 400 (3d Cir. 1987).