New York Law (NYLE) Practice Exam

In a legal dispute, if a statute of limitations is deemed procedural by one state but substantive by another, which state's law prevails?

1. State B's law prevails

2. New York law prevails

3. Both must be combined in jurisdiction

4. Federal standards will apply

The correct answer is: New York law prevails

In conflicts involving statutes of limitations, the prevailing law is determined by the characterization of the statute and the jurisdiction's approach to resolving these conflicts. In New York, the courts typically apply the "interest analysis" method when dealing with conflicts of laws. This requires courts to analyze the relevant interests of the states involved and how their application would affect the outcome. When one state considers a statute of limitations to be procedural and another considers it to be substantive, New York courts would generally opt to apply New York law, particularly if the New York statute serves a strong public policy interest or is deemed substantive under its own legal framework. Given the context of the question, New York law's approach emphasizes that substantive rules (which affect the rights and duties of individuals) tend to take precedence over procedural rules (which are about the mechanism of enforcing rights). Therefore, in this scenario, New York courts would likely apply their own law regarding the statute of limitations, as it is essential to their legal process and aligns with their interests in providing a consistent legal framework. This rationale explains why the answer indicates that New York law prevails in situations where different states characterize the statute diversely.