Burden Of Proof

New York law gives our courts the authority to hear and determine disputes involving foreign corporations or non-residents - where the amount in dispute is significant and the parties jointly submit to such jurisdiction by contract. As a result, our courts are often the venue of choice for major transactional and international disputes where the law of New York will be applied.

The combination of New York forum selection and choice of law provisions in an agreement means that a dispute may face some of the anomalies of our local practice. One such nuance relates to burden of proof.

But first: a brief tutorial.

Most common law jurisdictions have substantially the same burden of proof in a civil action, on the one hand, and in a criminal proceeding, on the other.