More Evidence that Helms-Burton is Backfiring
In 1996, Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act to strengthen sanctions against Cuba and to deter foreign companies from investing there. To discourage foreign investment, Title III created a civil remedy allowing U.S. nationals to sue any person who “traffics” in property confiscated by the Cuban government for damages in an amount three times the value…
Continue ReadingFifth Circuit Issues En Banc Opinion on Personal Jurisdiction over Foreign Defendants
The Fifth Circuit has issued an important en banc opinion on foreign defendants, personal jurisdiction, and the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. The court held in Douglass v. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha that the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause mirrors the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, except that the relevant sovereign is the United States…
Continue ReadingWhen the U.S. Sues Foreign Manufacturers
What if Robert Nicastro had been the U.S. Government? After J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, U.S. citizens harmed by products manufactured by foreign companies may not be able to sue in U.S. courts for lack of personal jurisdiction. In United States v. Aquatherm GmBH, a foreign manufacturer had similarly structured its sales into the…
Continue ReadingWhen Terrorists Default, Should Courts Consider Personal Jurisdiction?
A case from last week, Kaplan v. Hezbollah, illustrates the intricacies of consent-based personal jurisdiction in the context of default judgments and raises questions about the due process rights of terrorist organizations (and other unpopular defendants). U.S. citizens injured by Hezbollah missile attacks in Israel sued under the Antiterrorism Act (ATA). Hezbollah did not enter…
Continue ReadingA Primer on State Law in Transnational Litigation
The procedural and substantive rules that U.S. courts apply in transnational litigation come from many sources, including the U.S. Constitution, international treaties, customary international law, federal statutes, federal rules, and federal common law (both preemptive and non-preemptive)—but also, state statutes, state rules, and state common law. This primer focuses on the underappreciated role of state…
Continue ReadingForeign Defendants and the Future of Personal Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in yet another personal jurisdiction case (the eighth such case in just over ten years). Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Rwy. Co. has no transnational facts, but it is highly relevant for the future of transnational litigation in U.S. courts. Corporate registration statutes, like the one being challenged in Mallory,…
Continue ReadingNew Article Argues that the Helms-Burton Act Has Backfired
In an article recently posted on SSRN, Gergana Sivrieva surveys cases filed under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act for trafficking in expropriated property. She shows that, surprisingly, the principal defendants have not been foreign companies investing in Cuba but rather U.S. companies with only attenuated connections to such property. Congress passed the Helm-Burton Act…
Continue ReadingLitigating a Russian Bond Default
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions imposed in response by the United States and other governments, have fueled expectations of a Russian sovereign debt default. Despite the Russian government’s recent coupon payments on two dollar bonds and apparent desire to avoid default, prices remain in deeply distressed territory. As often happens in such…
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