Also known as: characterisation problem · characterization · characterisation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrinal issue that arises when a court must classify a legal claim, thing, or issue to select the governing rule or principle. Classification determines whether an interest in land passes at contract formation, whether an issue is substantive or procedural, or whether property counts as immovable or movable.
Catherine Carter signed a binding contract to buy a farm from Cedar Creek Farms. Before closing, a storm destroyed the main barn. The buyer asserted that risk of loss had already shifted because the contract created an equitable interest in the land. The court treated the seller as holding legal title only in trust for the buyer, placing the loss on Catherine.
Colin Chambers sued in federal court under diversity jurisdiction. The claim turned on whether a state discovery rule was substantive or procedural. The court weighed the state's interest in uniform application of its rule against the federal system's interest in managing its own procedures and decided to apply the state rule.
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Camila Cervantes died owning both a house in State X and corporate stock. Her heirs disputed which state's law governed succession. The court first classified the house as an immovable and the stock as a movable, then applied the law selected by the applicable choice-of-law principles to each asset.
Christian Coleman and Chloe Chen sued a fertility clinic for possession of a cryopreserved embryo. Their agreement had labeled the embryo as their property. The court accepted that characterization and resolved the dispute under ordinary contract principles rather than treating the embryo as a legal person.
Christine Castro's estate claimed a marital deduction based on a state-court ruling that certain assets were community property. The IRS challenged the characterization. The federal court examined whether it was bound by the state adjudication of the property interests for estate-tax purposes.
Cascade Manufacturing challenged a federal statute regulating gender-motivated violence. The government argued the conduct substantially affected interstate commerce. The court examined whether the regulated activity could be characterized as having the required aggregate economic effects under the Commerce Clause.
Once a binding contract forms, equitable conversion treats the buyer as owner of the land. This classification shifts the risk of loss to the buyer even before the deed is delivered.
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When no federal rule governs and the label is uncertain, courts balance the state's interest in having its rule applied against the federal judicial system's interest in its own procedures.
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The classification determines which state's law governs succession or transfer. Immovables are governed by the law of the situs. Movables follow different choice-of-law principles.
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In a contractual dispute over control and possession, the parties' characterization of the embryo as property permits resolution under contract rules rather than personhood doctrines.
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…lawsuit; it is merely being used as a means to compel the defendants’ appearance. Even if we were to accept the quasi in rem characterization, the assertion of jurisdiction would still fail the minimum contacts test of International Shoe . The ownership of stock in a Delaware corporation, without more, does not constitute…