Execution of Judgments Against the Assets of Foreign Sovereigns Located Abroad
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provides immunity from execution for the “property in the United States of a foreign state.” It does not confer immunity on a foreign state’s property located abroad. The limitation makes sense: to the extent that a foreign sovereign’s property located outside the United States is not subject to the…
Continue ReadingMDL-ing Transnational Litigation
What happens when the tax authority of the Kingdom of Denmark believes it was defrauded by more than 150 pension plans across the United States? A multidistrict litigation! This post briefly summarizes an unusual litigation in the Southern District of New York captioned In re SKAT Tax Refund Scheme Litigation. The post begins with a…
Continue ReadingSplitting the Difference on the Closely-Related-and-Foreseeable Test
Over the past decade, the lower federal courts have repeatedly considered whether non-signatories to a contract are bound by a forum selection clause if they are so “closely related” to a signatory that it is “foreseeable” that they would be bound. In some cases, their decisions are defensible, as discussed here. In others, their decisions…
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Stays Debt Litigation Against Sri Lanka at U.S. Request
Hamilton Reserve Bank Ltd. calls itself the “hometown bank of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton.” In a recent case, however, the bank found itself at odds with the Treasury Department that Alexander Hamilton founded. In Hamilton Reserve Bank Ltd. v. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the United States filed a statement of interest supporting…
Continue ReadingInternational Custody Jurisdiction, Human Rights, and Legislative Change
The Court of Appeals of Washington State recently issued an unpublished opinion that will serve as a benchmark for parents who flee certain countries with their children, seeking safe harbor in the United States (In re AlHaidari (Fearing, CJ)). In re AlHaidari Bethany AlHaidari, a U.S. citizen, married Ghassan AlHaidari, a Saudi citizen, in Saudi…
Continue ReadingParsing Invalidating Statutes (Part II)
In a prior post, I argued that the precise language used in state statutes purporting to invalidate choice-of-law clauses and forum selection clauses can have outsized effects in litigation. In this post, I continue this discussion by highlighting several statutes that purport to invalidate choice-of-law clauses in insurance contracts. Although these statutes all have the…
Continue ReadingParsing Invalidating Statutes (Part I)
In previous posts, I have written about how the precise language used in a choice-of-law or forum selection clause can prove consequential in litigation. In this post, I argue that the precise language used in state statutes purporting to invalidate these clauses can likewise have an outsized effect. There are hundreds of state statutes that…
Continue ReadingHappy Thanksgiving
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, so TLB is taking a break. We are thankful for you, our readers, around the world. If you celebrate the holiday, we wish you happiness with your family and friends. If you do not celebrate the holiday, we wish you the same. We will be back with…
Continue ReadingHow to Criticize U.S. Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (Part II)
[This post is based on a lecture delivered at Wuhan University School of Law on October 15, 2023] There are better and worse ways to criticize U.S. extraterritorial jurisdiction. In yesterday’s post, I discussed some shortcomings of a February 2023 report by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The U.S. Willful Practice of Long-arm Jurisdiction and…
Continue ReadingHow to Criticize U.S. Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (Part I)
[This post is based on a lecture delivered at Wuhan University School of Law on October 15, 2023] China has been critical of U.S. extraterritorial jurisdiction. In February, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a report entitled “The U.S. Willful Practice of Long-arm Jurisdiction and its Perils.” In the report, the Ministry complained about U.S….
Continue Reading