$16 billion judgment against Argentina reversed: breach of contract or expropriation?
Private investors in an Argentinian oil company (YPF) sued in the Southern District of New York when Argentina nationalized part of the ownership in YPF. Years of ensuing litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) focused on whether the litigation was based on an expropriation (as the defendants argued) or a “commercial activity” (as…
Continue ReadingNew Legislation Aids Claims by Victims of Nazi Expropriations
Congress has passed legislation making it easier for plaintiffs to recover Nazi-looted art and other expropriated property. If the president signs the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (“Hear”) Act of 2025 into law, defendants will have fewer procedural protections from such claims, including a more limited immunity defense for foreign sovereigns. The legislation illustrates how Congress…
Continue ReadingCan Parties Waive the Service Provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act?
The answer is yes, sometimes. Failure to Raise the Defense To begin with the easiest situation, a defendant that fails to raise the defense of improper service of process, as required under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), will waive the defense as provided by FRCP 12(b)(5) and (h). The strict timing requirements apply…
Continue ReadingEnforcement of Arbitral Awards against Russia for Expropriation of Property in Crimea
The D.C. Circuit recently cleared the way for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards against Russia for the expropriation of electricity and gas infrastructure in Crimea. Russia argued in the case, Stabil v. Russian Federation, that there was no jurisdiction because the arbitration exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) did not apply and…
Continue ReadingPreview of Supreme Court Arguments in Helms-Burton Act Cases: Havana Docks and Cimex
On February 23, 2026, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Havana Docks Corp. v. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Exxon Mobil Corp v. Corporación Cimex. Prior coverage is here, here, and here. The Helms-Burton Act cases slated for argument on February 23 present the following two questions: Question 1: The issue before the Court…
Continue ReadingThe Many Uses of the Choice-of-Law Clause
In prior posts, I have written about the things that a forum selection clause can and cannot do. In this post, I do the same for choice-of-law clauses. Among other things, a choice-of-law clause may be invoked to: Select a law to govern the contract and claims related to the contract; Provide support for the…
Continue ReadingA Narrow Interpretation of the FSIA’s Expropriation Exception
Introduction Three generations of the Herzog family have sought to recover some $100 million in artwork stolen by Hungarian government officials and Nazi collaborators during and following World War II. The looted works included pieces by the renowned artists El Greco, Renoir, and Monet. To the family’s disappointment, the Court of Appeals for the D.C….
Continue ReadingEnforcing U.S. Judgments Against “Foreign” Assets of Foreign Sovereigns: a Rejoinder
On June 30, 2025, in Petersen Energia Inversora, S.A.U. v. Argentine Republic, a federal district court in New York ordered the Republic of Argentina to “(i) transfer its Class D shares of YPF to a global custody account at BNYM in New York within 14 days from the date of this order; and (ii) instruct…
Continue ReadingChina’s Covid Countersuit
As the Covid pandemic raged in 2020, plaintiffs began filing suits in U.S. courts seeking damages from the People’s Republic of China and other Chinese defendants. In March 2025, a U.S. district court awarded the State of Missouri a default judgment for $24 billion against nine Chinese defendants. In November 2025, another district court awarded…
Continue ReadingNew Developments in U.S. Covid Litigation Against China
Just last month, I wrote about suits filed in U.S. courts against the People’s Republic of China and other Chinese entities for damages arising from the Covid pandemic. In the last two weeks there have been two significant developments. First, on November 14, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Judge…
Continue Reading