Preliminary Injunctions and the Hague Service Convention
In Whirlpool Corporation v. Shenzhen Sanlida Electrical Technology Company, the Fifth Circuit addressed the interaction between the Hague Service Convention and the preliminary injunction. Briefly, Whirlpool sued Shenzhen in the Eastern District of Texas for trademark and trade dress infringement related to Whirlpool’s “iconic” KitchenAid mixer. (Much like a prior Seventh Circuit case, this one…
Continue ReadingForeign-Country Judgments and Full Faith and Credit
Article IV, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution begins by stating: “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.” Congress has extended this principle to judgments from U.S. territories and possessions too, providing in the Full Faith and Credit Act that…
Continue ReadingConstitutional Issues in the Sudan Claims Resolution Act
District courts and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia have recently issued opinions addressing constitutional issues in litigation against Sudan. The United States and the Republic of Sudan signed an agreement (the Claims and Dispute Resolution Agreement) designed to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries, to promote democracy in Sudan, and…
Continue ReadingChoice of Law in Terrorism Cases
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (DDC) is routinely called upon to adjudicate civil cases where plaintiffs bring claims against foreign sovereigns on behalf of themselves or relatives who were killed or injured in terrorist attacks overseas. If the plaintiff is a foreign national, the DDC must apply the choice-of-law rules followed…
Continue ReadingCert Petition Defends Partial Forum Non Conveniens Dismissals
A pending cert petition before the U.S. Supreme Court asks whether a district court may dismiss part of an action pursuant to the doctrine of forum non conveniens (“FNC”) while allowing the rest of the case to proceed. The Tenth Circuit held that it could not in DIRTT Environmental Solutions Inc. v. Falkbuilt Ltd. because…
Continue ReadingChina Adopts Restrictive Theory of Foreign State Immunity
On September 1, 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Foreign State Immunity Law of the People’s Republic of China (FSIL) (English translation here). When the law enters into force on January 1, 2024, China will join those countries—a clear majority—that have adopted the restrictive theory of foreign state immunity. For…
Continue ReadingFuld: Right for the Wrong Reason
In a major decision interpreting Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (2023), the Second Circuit in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization held that personal jurisdiction may not be established by relying on the “deemed consent” provision of the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (“PSJVTA”). A thorough review of the decision can…
Continue ReadingWill the Supreme Court Resolve the Circuit Split on the Geographic Scope of Wire Fraud Statute?
The federal wire fraud statute is a workhorse for federal prosecutors. In 2021, there were more than 4,500 federal prosecutions for fraud, theft, or embezzlement, constituting 8% of federal criminal cases. The wire fraud statute is particularly important in transnational fraud cases, because communicating with people in the United States using U.S. wires is considered…
Continue ReadingSecond Circuit Rejects Consent-Based Jurisdiction over PLO
Last Friday, the Second Circuit issued much-anticipated decisions in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization and Waldman v. Palestine Liberation Organization, cases brought by U.S. nationals against the Palestine Liberation Organization (“PLO”) and Palestinian Authority (“PA”) for injuries sustained during terrorist attacks in Israel. After the Second Circuit held in an earlier decision in Waldman that…
Continue ReadingJia on the U.S.- China Rivalry
Mark Jia has posted an interesting new article on SSRN, American Law in the New Global Conflict. It considers how China has shaped U.S. law historically and how the current rivalry between the U.S. and China will play out for domestic law. The history is fascinating. It discusses not only the racist and xenophobic Chinese…
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