Second Circuit Expands Scope of Anti-Terrorism Act Suits Against Foreign States
On February 4, 2025, in Schansman v. Sberbank, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that foreign states and their agencies and instrumentalities may be sued under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for acts of international terrorism, provided that one of the enumerated exceptions to sovereign immunity in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act…
Continue ReadingDeciding the “Real Party in Interest” in FSIA Litigation
The Second Circuit has categorized a recent case against an individual Egyptian official as a case against the Egyptian government as the “real party in interest.” The case, Hussein v. Maait, was then dismissed because Egypt was immune from suit. The court of appeals did a nice job laying out and applying the relevant “real…
Continue ReadingThe $24 Billion Judgment Against China in Missouri’s COVID Suit
On March 7, 2025, Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. (Eastern District of Missouri) entered a default judgment for more than $24 billion against the People’s Republic of China and eight other Chinese defendants for hoarding personal protective equipment (PPE) during the early days of the COVID pandemic in violation of federal and state antitrust laws….
Continue ReadingCassirer’s Case Continues
Regular TLB readers will be familiar with David Cassirer’s long-running suit to recover a painting by Camille Pissarro, which the Nazis stole from his great-grandmother, from a museum owned by the government of Spain. The case turns on choice of law. Under Spanish law, an owner acquires good title through possession for a period of…
Continue ReadingDevas v. Antrix: Headed back to the Ninth Circuit?
On Monday, the Supreme Court held oral argument in Devas v. Antrix to decide “whether plaintiffs must prove minimum contacts before federal courts may assert personal jurisdiction over foreign states sued under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).” Minimum contacts between the defendant and the United States might be required as a matter of statutory…
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Holds that Serving Chinese Defendants by Email is Prohibited
My posts on TLB often criticize judicial opinions. Today, for a change, I’d like to celebrate a district court decision addressing the thorny question of email service under the Hague Service Convention that gets the answer exactly right. In Flying Heliball, LLC v. Zero Zero Robotics, Inc., Judge Fred W. Slaughter (Central District of California)…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Narrows the FSIA’s Expropriation Exception (Again)
(Editor’s Note: This article also appears in Just Security.) Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Republic of Hungary v. Simon. Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor held that commingling the proceeds of expropriated property with other government funds, which are then used for commercial activity in the United States, is not enough…
Continue ReadingFirst Circuit Argument Weighs Constitutionality of TVPA
Last month, the First Circuit (Judge Lara Montecalvo, presiding, with retired Justice Stephen Breyer and Senior Judge Sandra Lynch) heard oral argument in Boniface v. Viliena. Viliena, a Haitian national who has been a legal permanent resident of the United States since 2008, is challenging a $15.5 million jury award under the Torture Victim Protection…
Continue ReadingHelms-Burton’s Statute of Repose
Helms-Burton plaintiffs just can’t seem to catch a break. They have struggled to establish personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants, run into issues of foreign sovereign immunity, and found that their property rights have expired. Now, the Second Circuit has held that the Helms-Burton Act’s statute of repose blocks claims more than two years old. Congress…
Continue ReadingForeign States are “Persons”: CC/Devas v. Antrix Amicus Brief
The Supreme Court may soon resolve an important constitutional question: whether foreign states are “persons” entitled to Fifth Amendment due process. For those who engage seriously with the text, history, and structure of the Constitution, there is a ready answer: yes, foreign states are “persons.” The scope of the “process” to which foreign states are…
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