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Note: 

Hugh Scott Hunsaker, The Texas Dissimilarity Doctrine as Applied to the Tort Law of Mexico: A Modern Evaluation, 55 TEXAS L. REV. 1281 (1977). 

The dissimilarity doctrine is a judicial rule requiring a forum court to dismiss suits when the conflict-of-laws rules demand application of a foreign law that differs substantially from the law of the forum.  Except Texas, virtually all American jurisdictions have discredited and abandoned the once-favored doctrine in favor of a more straightforward refusal to enforce foreign law that violates the public policy of the forum.  Texas has limited the doctrine to dismissal of tort cases that require examination of Mexican law.  

This Note examines Texas’ application of the dissimilarity doctrine to Mexican tort law and the policies underlying that application.  It concludes that the doctrine does not adequately effectuate those policies and that the courts should abandon the per se rule and return to a case-by-case determination of dissimilarity consistent with the policies to be served.  It also notes that the basis for the doctrine is incorrect in light of substantial changes in both Texas and Mexican tort law since the adoption of the per se rule.