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 ReadingMissed Opportunities in Great Lakes
In the 1994 film, Clerks, the main character works at a quick-stop grocery store in New Jersey. On his day off, he gets a call from his boss asking him to cover the shift of another employee. As he grapples with a stream of difficult customers during the course of this unexpected shift, he keeps…
Continue ReadingThoughts on the Respondent’s Brief in Great Lakes
In a prior post, I surveyed the facts, procedural history, and potential significance of Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC, an upcoming Supreme Court case about the enforceability of choice-of-law clauses in maritime insurance contracts. In a subsequent post, I shared some thoughts about the brief filed by the petitioner, Great Lakes Insurance SE (GLI). In this…
Continue ReadingSome Thoughts on Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Great Lakes Insurance SE, Petitioner v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC during the 2023 Term. This case has the potential to change the way that federal courts evaluate the enforceability of choice-of-law clauses. Over the past few decades, these provisions have become ubiquitous. One study found…
Continue ReadingWaiving Choice of Law
When I teach Conflict of Laws, I tell my students that they must always perform a choice-of-law analysis when there is a conflict between the laws of two jurisdictions. This is sound advice for doing well on the final exam. It is not, however, strictly true. In fact, litigants waive this issue all the time….
Continue ReadingForum Selection Clauses, Non-Signatories, and Personal Jurisdiction in New York
As a general rule, the law will not vest contractual rights in (or impose contractual obligations upon) individuals who are not parties to an agreement. Over the past few decades, however, the courts have had occasion to relax this rule in the context of forum selection clauses. As previously discussed here and here and at…
Continue ReadingCISG Opt-Outs and Ascertaining Party Intent: A Back-to-Basics Perspective
Two of this year’s contributions to Transnational Litigation Blog have addressed the intellectually stimulating but also practically pressing issue of identifying when, and how, commercial parties can exclude the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods from their international sales agreements. In Professor John Coyle’s CISG Opt-Outs and Party Intent, Professor…
Continue ReadingThe PDVSA Bonds, Autocracy, and the Venezuelan Constitution
The Second Circuit’s recent decision in Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. v. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. certified a number of choice-of-law questions to the New York Court of Appeals. The decision to certify, which had the effect of postponing a definitive resolution of the dispute, was previously discussed at TLB here and here. In this post, I focus…
Continue ReadingA Deeply Flawed Personal Jurisdiction Decision in the SDNY
When dealing with forum selection clauses, one of the most important—if unappreciated—distinctions is between inbound and outbound clauses. An inbound clause selects the court where the suit was filed. An outbound clause selects a court that that is not the forum. Another important distinction is the one between exclusive clauses, which stipulate that suit must…
Continue ReadingWho Owns the Ferrari F50?
The Ferrari F50 is, by all accounts, a pretty amazing car. One website describes it as the “ultimate showcase of the infamous Italian marque” and “one of the most sought-after driving machines in the world.” Only 349 were ever made. Just last year, a Ferrari F50 sold at auction for roughly $3.8 million. All of…
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