Eighth Circuit Weighing Adoption of Foreign Relations Abstention
The Eighth Circuit will soon hear an interlocutory appeal to consider permitting abstention based on foreign relations concerns. In Reid v. Doe Run Resources Corp. (as the case is captioned on appeal), Peruvian citizens allege they were seriously harmed as children by toxic substances emitted by a metallurgical refining complex in Peru and that this…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Requests Response to FNC Cert Petition
The Supreme Court has called for a response in Wamai v. Industrial Bank of Korea, a terrorism-related lawsuit that was dismissed for forum non conveniens. The plaintiffs have asked the Court to consider how much deference federal courts should give U.S. plaintiffs’ choice of forum when they are joined by foreign co-plaintiffs. The Southern District…
Continue ReadingImportant New Handbook on Extraterritoriality
Many TLB readers will share my excitement and appreciation for the brand-new Research Handbook on Extraterritoriality in International Law, a volume of wide-ranging expert analyses edited by Austen Parrish and Cedric Ryngaert. The volume explores extraterritoriality from a full range of perspectives rarely (if ever) brought together in one place. I am reading it cover-to-cover…
Continue ReadingTLB’s Petitions to Watch at the Long Conference
Today the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for their first conference before the official beginning of October Term 2023—what is colloquially known as the “long conference” because of the long list of petitions for certiorari on their agenda. We can expect an orders list within the next day or two with additional grants…
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 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 ReadingUsing TLB to Teach Civil Procedure (2023 Update)
With the new school year come new decisions about how to incorporate yet another Supreme Court personal jurisdiction decision into the civil procedure curriculum. TLB can help! This post highlights materials on TLB that can provide updates on recent cases, concise overviews of doctrines, and conversation starters about procedural questions. Personal Jurisdiction The big news…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Roundup (October Term 2022)
During its 2022 Term, which ended four weeks ago, the Supreme Court decided five cases with important implications for transnational litigation. The questions included whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) applies to criminal proceedings; the standard for aiding and abetting under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA); whether states may exercise general personal jurisdiction over foreign…
Continue ReadingThrowback Thursday: Insurance Corp. of Ireland v. Compagnie des Bauxites
In the Supreme Court’s end-of-Term personal jurisdiction case, Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway (2023) (prior coverage here, here, and here), Justice Jackson wrote separately to explain why she found “particularly instructive” the Court’s prior decision in Insurance Corp. of Ireland v. Compagnie des Bauxites (1982). Bauxites, a case about jurisdictional discovery and discovery sanctions, is…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Holds Lanham Act Does Not Apply Extraterritorially
In Abitron Austria v. Hectronic International, the Supreme Court held that the federal trademark statute does not apply extraterritoriality, with the majority emphasizing that conduct relevant to the statute’s focus must occur within the United States.
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