9th Cir. BAP 2013 - Which State Law is applicable when the debtor resides in a diffferent state...look to the state in which the judgment was obtained (not published)

The 9th Circuit BAP in In re Van Damme, examined the concept of issue preclusion.  This was a very contentious case in which the Debtor's were alleged to have trespassed onto property, thrown paint upon their neighbor and tore down a wall in order to build a pool.  To make matter's worse, counsel for the Debtors apparently stated   

At one point debtor’s counsel alleges that the state court’s FFCL were "hardly a model of judicial temperance" and make "unsupported accusations of criminal activity wholly inappropriate to a civil proceeding against Mr. Van Damme. . . ." In connection with this statement, counsel contends that the judge in the Nevada action, "has been intemperate in other contexts as well" and then points out that he received a public reprimand for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Court examined the doctrine of issue preclusion and examined the preclusive effect of judgment not obtained in the state in which the debtor resides.  The Court found that that the proper subject of inquiry is the law of the state in which the judgment was obtained.  

In re Van Damme