Lex Loci Delictus and Global Economic Welfare: Spinozzi v. ITT Sheraton Corp

The traditional choice-of-law rule for tort was lex loci delictus - the law of the place where the plaintiff suffered the wrong. In Spinozzi vs. ITT Sheraton Corp, Judge Richard Posner presented a full-throated defense of the traditional lex loci rule in the context of a transnational tort. The plai...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Harvard law review 2007-03, Vol.120 (5), p.1137-1147
Main Authors: Goldsmith, Jack L., Sykes, Alan O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
Administrative law judges
Commentaries:Twenty-Five Years of Richard Posner,the Judge
Conflict of laws
Conflicts of laws
Federal court decisions
Global economy
Hotel chains
International law
Jurisdiction
Laws, regulations and rules
Local statutes
Negligence
Negligence, Contributory
Opinions
Plaintiffs
Posner, Richard A
State court decisions
Strict liability
Studies
Tort law
Torts
Transnationalism
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The traditional choice-of-law rule for tort was lex loci delictus - the law of the place where the plaintiff suffered the wrong. In Spinozzi vs. ITT Sheraton Corp, Judge Richard Posner presented a full-throated defense of the traditional lex loci rule in the context of a transnational tort. The plaintiff in Spinozzi suffered serious injuries when he fell into a maintenance pit at a Sheraton hotel while on vacation in Acapulco Mexico. The district court held that Mexican law governed the case and precluded the plaintiff's recovery because Mexican law makes contributory negligence a complete defense to negligence liability and the uncontested facts showed that Spinozzi had been contributorily negligent. A unanimous Seventh Circuit panel, in an opinion by Judge Posner, affirmed. Judge Posner argued that because each jurisdiction has a comparative regulatory advantage with respect to events within its territory, the lex loci rule is efficient. Judge Posner was right to argue that application of the lex loci rule in cases of transnational torts promotes economic efficiency - but perhaps for the wrong reason.
ISSN:0017-811X
2161-976X