SDNY Stays Action Based on International Comity
Lower federal courts have developed several forms of abstention based on international comity. Some courts have adopted a doctrine of prescriptive comity abstention to dismiss federal statutory claims when facing a “true conflict” with foreign law. Some have embraced doctrines of adjudicative comity abstention that permit dismissals or stays of federal proceedings in favor of…
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Applies Securities Fraud Provision to Foreign Transactions
Does § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act apply to securities on foreign exchanges? Generally, the answer is no. The Supreme Court held in Morrison v. National Australia Bank (2010) that § 10(b)—the Act’s principal antifraud provision—applies only to transactions on U.S. exchanges and to transactions in unlisted securities that occur in the United States….
Continue ReadingHappy New Year!
TLB will be on winter break until January 7, 2025. We wish you all the best in the new year!
Continue ReadingAll I Want for Christmas (from the Supreme Court)
Following up on John Coyle’s post yesterday, I’ve prepared my own list of things I wish courts in the United States would do differently in transnational litigation. 1. Abandon the U.S.-Conduct Requirement for the Presumption Against Extraterritoriality The Supreme Court uses a presumption against extraterritoriality to determine the geographic scope of federal statutes. There have…
Continue ReadingSuing Over the Price of Gas
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was established in 1960 “to ensure the stabilization of prices by, among other means, the regulation of production.” On one level, OPEC is simply a cartel engaged in anticompetitive behavior. On another level, it is an organization of nation-states that plays a significant role in world politics. Since…
Continue ReadingCassirer Plaintiffs Ask Supreme Court to GVR
On Friday, the plaintiffs in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation filed a cert petition asking the Supreme Court to grant, vacate, and remand (GVR) the Ninth Circuit’s decision in light of new California legislation mandating the application of California law to the merits of the case. It would be standard practice for the Court to…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Grants Cert in Fuld v. PLO
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Fuld v. Palestinian Liberation Organization to decide whether the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (PSJVTA) violates the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. For prior TLB coverage of Fuld, see here, here, here, here, and here. The PSJVTA purports to establish personal…
Continue ReadingHungary v. Simon Offers Supreme Court Stark Choice
(Editor’s Note: This article also appears in Just Security.) On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Hungary v. Simon, a case brought by Holocaust survivors under the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). In 1944, Hungary rounded up Jews and transported them by train to death camps, expropriating their property…
Continue ReadingExtraterritoriality and Self-Determination
Professor Evan Criddle has written a fascinating article on extraterritoriality, forthcoming in the American Journal of International Law, but available now on SSRN. Evan argues that much extraterritorial application of domestic law violates the right to self-determination under international law by subjecting non-nationals outside the territory of the regulating state to laws that are not…
Continue ReadingDOJ Argues Against Turnover of Argentina’s Assets
On November 6, 2024, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York sent a letter to Judge Loretta A. Preska arguing against turnover of Argentina’s interests in YPF S.A., a state-owned energy company, to satisfy a breach of contract judgment. The $16.1 billion judgment in Petersen Energia Inversora, S.A.U. v. Argentine Republic arose…
Continue Reading