State Law in Federal Courts Part I
Learn about when and how state law is used in federal courts as required under the Rules of Decision Act.
Transcript
I. Introduction
When a federal court presides over a dispute based on federal-question jurisdiction, federal law applies to resolve the dispute. However, when a federal court presides over a dispute based on diversity jurisdiction, namely, a dispute that’s based on the litigants’ status as citizens of different states, federal law doesn’t necessarily apply. In fact, both federal and state law might apply to resolve the dispute. Therefore, a...