Opinion ID: 1752850
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: pros and cons of lex loci delicti

Text: For a great many years, Michigan embraced the Bealeian conflict-of-laws notion that when a cause of action is maintained for injury sustained in a foreign jurisdiction, the substantive rights of the parties are to be automatically fixed and governed by the law of the place where the wrong occurred [3]  the lex loci delicti. [4] In support of this rule, [5] courts in Michigan as well as other jurisdictions have largely relied on the teachings of the original Restatement Conflict of Laws, and particularly § 378 of that treatise which states: The law of the place of wrong determines whether a person has sustained a legal injury. The place of wrong is in the state where the last event necessary to make an actor liable for an alleged tort takes place. Id., § 377. [6] The traditional advantages advanced on behalf of the lex loci rule have included discouraging forum shopping [7] and furthering the goals of certainty and predictability [8] through its ease of application, thus simplifying the task of both lawyers and the courts. Despite these reputed advantages, modern scholars [9] and about half or more of the states [10] have rejected its rigidity since the rule often produced obvious rather than just results through its failure to consider the interests of other jurisdictions in the litigated matter. Judge Fuld criticized continued application of the lex loci delicti rule in the seminal case of Babcock v Jackson, 12 NY2d 473, 478; 240 NYS2d 743; 191 NE2d 279, 281 (1963): Although espoused by such great figures as Justice Holmes and Professor Beale, the vested rights doctrine has long since been discredited because it fails to take account of underlying policy considerations in evaluating the significance to be ascribed to the circumstance that an act had a foreign situs in determining the rights and liabilities which arise out of that act. `The vice of the vested rights theory', it has been aptly stated, `is that it affects to decide concrete cases upon generalities which do not state the practical considerations involved'. More particularly, as applied to torts, the theory ignores the interest which jurisdictions other than that where the tort occurred may have in the resolution of particular issues. It is for this very reason that, despite the advantages of certainty, ease of application and predictability which it affords, there has in recent years been increasing criticism of the traditional rule by commentators and a judicial trend towards its abandonment or modification. (Footnotes and citations omitted, emphasis supplied.) Chief Justice Traynor had this to add in his equally significant opinion in Reich v Purcell, 67 Cal 2d 551, 555; 63 Cal Rptr 31; 432 P2d 727, 730 (1967): Ease of determining applicable law and uniformity of rules of decision, however, must be subordinated to the objective of proper choice of law in conflict cases, i.e., to determine the law that most appropriately applies to the issue involved. Moreover, as jurisdiction after jurisdiction has departed from the law of the place of the wrong as the controlling law in tort cases, regardless of the issue involved, that law no longer affords even a semblance of the general application that was once thought to be its great virtue. (Citations omitted.) In a recent opinion, the Supreme Court of Texas abandoned the traditional lex loci doctrine. Gutierrez v Collins, 583 SW2d 312, 317 (Tex, 1979). Justice Johnson disposed of the principal arguments favoring the traditional approach as follows: The short answer to the first argument [that the lex loci delicti doctrine provides a uniform, consistent, and predictable rule of law] is that the traditional rule in its search for uniformity of result and ease of application, ignored the very substantial interests of the forum state in applying its own law. The results reached were most often arbitrary and unjust. To avoid these results, courts engrafted exceptions to the rule or circumvented its operation by strained characterizations of the facts. This led to an undermining of uniformity and predictability which were the supposed virtues of lex loci delicti. `The result was an unworkable irrational system.' 3 Dooley, Modern Tort Law, § 46.02 (1977). Even without this judicial maneuvering, certainty and predictability were irrelevant considerations in the case of unintentional torts such as presented in the instant case. Secondly [addressing the argument that alternative theories would lead to varying, inconsistent and unpredictable results], while the alternative theories to lex loci delicti admittedly have experienced some growing pains, the need to take into account factors other than the geographical location of the tort justifies this added burden. As with any new rule of law, it is to be anticipated that there will be some refinement and adjustment; but this is inherent in the judicial process. Ease of administration alone is a wholly inadequate reason for retention of an unjust rule. Further, it is open to question whether lex loci delicti truly was easy to administer   . Finally [addressing the argument that stare decisis precludes abandonment of lex loci delicti], the doctrine of stare decisis does not stand as an insurmountable bar to overruling precedent. Stare decisis prevents change for the sake of change; it does not prevent any change at all. It creates a strong presumption in favor of the established law; it does not render that law immutable. Indeed, the genius of the common law rests in its ability to change, to recognize when a timeworn rule no longer serves the needs of society, and to modify the rule accordingly. Lex loci delicti had its origins in the days when travels across state lines [were] relatively rare and perhaps it served a useful purpose in that time. In today's highly mobile society, however, its continued application most commonly produces harsh and inequitable results. It is in recognition of this fact that courts and commentators are seeking to fashion a new rule more attuned to the demands of modern society.