NORTH DAKOTA BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the North Dakota Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
UBE jurisdiction · two-day exam: MBE (200 MCQ, 50%) / MEE (six essays, 30%) / MPT (two tasks, 20%) · passing score 260/400 (among the lower, more accessible UBE cut scores) · MPRE scaled 80 · character-and-fitness via the ND State Board of Law Examiners · score portable in/out within the transfer window · UBE does not grade ND law as a separate subject — write national law on generic essays.
2. TORTS
FLAG: Modified comparative — 50% BAR (Ch. 32-03.2): P recovers only if P's fault is LESS THAN the combined fault of all persons from whom recovery is sought; if P's fault is 50% or greater, recovery is barred — P LOSES the 50/50 tie ("less than" / "not as great as" formulation; contrast Ohio's 51% "not greater than" rule where P wins the tie — don't confuse them) · when allowed, recovery is reduced by P's percentage · several (proportionate) liability — joint & several abolished; fact-finder allocates fault among all parties (and often nonparties) and the court enters several judgments; each D pays only its own share, and an insolvent co-D's share cannot be shifted to a solvent D · caps: med-mal noneconomic cap $500,000 · dram-shop under §5-01-06.1 — claim against anyone who knowingly disposed of (sold or gave) alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person or a minor; statutory notice requirement applies.
3. CIVIL PROCEDURE / SOL
ND Rules of Civil Procedure mirror federal (notice pleading; joinder/discovery/summary judgment parallel) · SOL (Ch. 28-01): PI/most torts/written & oral contracts/property/fraud 6 years (ND's general negligence and contract period is unusually long — a signature feature) · 2-year exceptions: med-mal (2 yrs from discovery + 6-yr repose), defamation (libel/slander), and wrongful death.
4. EVIDENCE
ND Rules of Evidence mirror FRE — MBE answer almost always right · differences concentrate in privileges, codified by rule (physician/psychotherapist-patient, spousal, clergy, lawyer-client) · the codified physician/psychotherapist privilege has no FRE analog · apply the FRE on the exam.
5. FAMILY LAW
No-fault ground = irreconcilable differences; fault grounds retained (adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion, alcohol/drug abuse, felony conviction) · equitable distribution under the Ruff-Fischer guidelines · FLAG: ALL property of both spouses — including pre-marital, separate, AND inherited property — enters the marital estate subject to equitable division (source is just one factor; ND does NOT wall off separate property like most equitable-distribution states) · spousal support (rehabilitative + permanent) discretionary under Ruff-Fischer · child support = percentage-of-obligor-income model · UCCJEA/UIFSA adopted.
6. WILLS / ESTATES
UPC adopted (Title 30.1) · will = writing + signature + two witnesses (sign within a reasonable time after witnessing) · holographic wills VALID when signature + material portions are in testator's handwriting (no witnesses) · self-proved affidavit available · elective share = UPC augmented estate (sweeps in nonprobate transfers), sliding scale by marriage length rising to 50% at 15+ years · intestacy: spouse takes the entire estate if all the decedent's descendants are also the survivor's and the survivor has no other descendants; reduced (dollar amount off the top + a fraction) with stepchildren or non-mutual descendants · UPC homestead, family, and exempt-property allowances.
7. REAL PROPERTY
Recording act: RACE-NOTICE (§47-19-41) — subsequent BFP prevails over a prior unrecorded interest only if it took without notice AND recorded first (both required) · adverse possession: 20 years, reduced to 10 years with color of title + payment of taxes; usual elements (actual, open/notorious, hostile, exclusive, continuous) · foreclosure: judicial with a statutory redemption period (60 days to a year) and a pre-foreclosure notice-of-intent requirement · generous statutory homestead exemption protecting home equity from most creditors.
8. CONTRACTS / UCC
UCC adopted (Title 41) — Article 2 sales + Article 9 secured transactions = national MBE doctrine · ND also has a detailed common-law-contracts codification (Title 9) that restates standard rules · SOF standard categories (land, suretyship, one-year, goods $500+) · no major bar-tested departure — treat contracts as national.
9. BUSINESS ENTITIES & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporations (ND Business Corporation Act), LLCs, and partnerships follow modern uniform acts; fiduciary duties, veil-piercing, and agency are national/Restatement doctrine · RPC mirror ABA Model Rules — apply Model Rules; local layer = IOLTA/trust-account administration + Supreme Court/disciplinary-board discipline.
10. CRIMINAL
Title 12.1 is one of the most thoroughly MPC-based codes in the country — culpability terms (intentionally/knowingly/recklessly/negligently) and offense definitions track the MPC closely · no death penalty · because the code is MPC-based it aligns well with MBE doctrine — apply MBE/common-law analysis on the exam.
KEY FLAGS
FLAG: Modified comparative 50% BAR — P loses the tie (vs. Ohio 51% / wins the tie). FLAG: Several liability — J&S abolished. FLAG: RACE-NOTICE recording act. FLAG: Family — all property (incl. inherited/pre-marital) is divisible under Ruff-Fischer. FLAG: Holographic wills valid; UPC augmented-estate elective share. FLAG: SOL 6 years for most torts/contracts. FLAG: UBE — write national law on generic essays.