Wayne State University Law School

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Professor Robert A. Sedler

CONFLICT OF LAWS
Fall Term, 2013-2014
The casebook is Kay, Kramer & Roosevelt Conflict of Laws (9th ed.2013). For
those who like outside texts, Weintraub, Commentary on the Conflict of Laws (6th ed
2010), and Richman & Reynolds, Understanding Conflict of Laws (3d ed. 2002), are
both excellent. You may also like a shorter work, Roosevelt, Conflict of Laws (2010). I
am not recommending that you consult outside texts, but I know that some students like
to do so. There are some additional materials, which you are to download from TWEN.
There are 13 weeks of classes, with 26 1 hour classes, totaling 39 hours. We
will not have class on Thursday, September 5, due to my observance of the Rosh
Hashanah holiday. I am scheduling 25 assignments, totaling 37 hours now, leaving
room for an additional assignment at the end of the course. We will discuss making up
the missed class during the first hour of the course. I will first give an overview of the
course coverage and then set out the 25 assignments, week by week.
Course Overview
Chapter 1: The Traditional Approach to Choice of Law.

9 hours

Omit pp. 66-76, 91-97

Traditional Theory: A Survey of Jurisdiction-Selecting Rules
pp. 3-43

6 hours

Traditional Practice: A Survey of Escape Devices

pp. 43-66, 76-91

3 hours

Chapter 2: Modern Approaches to Choice of Law.

Secs.1 and 2: Statutory Solutions and Party Autonomy.

18 hours
3 hours

pp.99-126
Sec. 3. Interest Analysis.

10 hours

pp. 127-223
After reading the excerpt from Currie, Married Womens Contracts,
pp.135-147, read in its entirety Sedler, The Governmental Interest
Approach to Choice of Law: An Analysis and a Reformulation (TWEN).

Wayne State University Law School

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Professor Robert A. Sedler

Secs.4 and 5: Place of the Most Significant Relationship and

The Better Law.

3 hours

pp. 223-266

Sec. 6. Problems Old and New.

2 hours

We are only covering Section C. Rules Versus Standards, and Section E.

Conflicts in Cyberspace. At the end of Section C, read Sedler, Choice of
Law in Conflicts Torts Cases: A Third Restatement or Rules of Choice of
Law (TWEN).
pp. 282-289, 322-342

Chapter 3: The Constitution and Choice of Law.

4.5 hours

Omit pp. 385-407

Chapter 5: Recognition of Judgments.

3 hours

Omit pp. 559-570, 596-617

Chapter 6: Divorce and Interstate Custody

3 hours

Omit pp. 639-668, 732-777

Note that chapters 4,7, and 8 are to be omitted entirely.

Weekly Assignments
Week One:

August 27 and August 29

Traditional Theory, pp. 2-17

Total Class Hours 3

Wayne State University Law School

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Week Two:

Professor Robert A. Sedler

September 3 (no class on September 5)

Traditional Theory, pp. 20-33

Total Class Hours 4 1/2

Week Three: September 10 and September 12

Traditional Theory, pp.34-43
Traditional Practice,pp. 43-60

Week Four:

September 17 and September 19

Traditional Practice, 60-91

Statutory Solutions, pp. 99-105

Week Five:

Total Class Hours 19 1/2

October 15 and October 17

Interest Analysis, pp. 206-223

Week Nine:

Total Class Hours 16 1/2

October 8 and October 10

Interest Analysis, pp. 169-206

Week Eight:

Total Class Hours 13

October 1 and October 3

Interest Analysis, pp. 135-169

Week Seven:

Total Class Hours 10 1/2

September 24 and September 26

Party Autonomy, pp.106-126

Interest Analysis, pp. 127-135

Week Six:

Total Class Hours 7

Total Class Hours 22 1/2

October 22 and October 24

Place of the Most Significant Relationship, pp.223-249

The Better Law, pp. 249-266

Wayne State University Law School

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Professor Robert A. Sedler

Problems Old and New: Rules Versus Standards,. pp. 282-289

Total Class Hours: 25
Week Ten:
October 29 and October 31
Problems Old and New: Conflicts in Cyberspace. pp. 322-342
The Constitution and Choice of Law, pp. 343-364
Total Class Hours: 28

Week Eleven:

November 5 and November 7

The Constitution and Choice of Law, pp. 364-384

Recognition of Judgments, pp. 519-540
Total Class Hours: 31

Week Twelve:

November 12 and November 14

Recognition of Judgments, pp. 540-558, 570-596

Total Class Hours: 34 1/2
Week Thirteen:

November 19 and November 21

Divorce and Interstate Custody, pp. 619-638, 668-731

Total Class Hours: 37