Using TLB To Teach Transnational Litigation

One of our goals in creating TLB was to compile a set of educational resources for students and teachers. As we gear up for a new academic year, we will be running a series of posts highlighting TLB content that may be useful to professors of Civil Procedure, Foreign Relations Law, International Business Transactions (IBT), and Conflict of Laws. This initial post will begin by describing how teachers of Transnational Litigation might use TLB to build or supplement their syllabus. This post and subsequent posts will be accessible at our new Teaching Resources page.

Topic Pages and Primers

TLB has a growing number of “primers” keyed to each topic page. These primers can serve as general introductions for students, akin to background material in a casebook. They also link to more in-depth posts and resources.

In addition to these primers, the topic pages include links to core primary documents (like cases, treaties, and statutes) that teachers may wish to assign, as well as major works of scholarship for those interested in additional readings. Relevant blog posts are also gathered on each topic page in reverse chronological order. Teachers might direct students to review recent posts as a method for building awareness of current developments and generating ideas or questions for discussion boards.

A Model Syllabus

To build a full syllabus, teachers may want to combine primers, primary resources identified on the topic pages, and individual blog posts that highlight recent developments or historical context. Here are some sample modules for a Transnational Litigation course:

Personal Jurisdiction

• Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117 (2014) (linked from Personal Jurisdiction topic page)
• McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, 564 U.S. 873 (2011) (linked from Personal Jurisdiction topic page)
• Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k) (linked from Personal Jurisdiction topic page)
• Foreign Defendants and the Future of Personal Jurisdiction
• When the U.S. Sues Foreign Manufacturers
• Corporate Registration and Jurisdiction in Transnational Litigation

Foreign Sovereigns in U.S. Courts

• Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (28 U.S.C. §§ 1603-1607, 28 U.S.C. § 1330) (linked from Foreign Sovereign Immunity topic page)
• Throwback Thursday: The Tate Letter and Foreign Sovereign Immunity
• Verlinden B.V. v. Central Bank of Nigeria, 461 U.S. 480 (1983) (linked from Foreign Sovereign Immunity topic page)
• Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy: Greece Intervening) (ICJ 2012) (linked from Foreign Sovereign Immunity topic page)
• A Primer on Foreign Official Immunity
• Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305 (2010) (linked from Foreign Official Immunity topic page)
• Can Corporations Claim Foreign Official Immunity?
• Foreign Dictators in U.S. Courts

Choice of Law and State Law

• A Primer on State Law in Transnational Litigation
• Throwback Thursday: Joseph Story and the Comity of Nations
• Who Owns the Ferrari F50?
• What Should Happen Next in Cassirer?

 Choice-of-Law Clauses and Forum Selection Clauses

• A Primer on Choice-of-Law Clauses
• A Primer on Forum Selection Clauses
• The Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1 (1972) (linked from Forum Selection Clauses topic page)
• Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991) (linked from Forum Selection Clauses topic page)
• Throwback Thursday: Canada, Cannabis, and Forum Selection Clauses

Prescriptive Jurisdiction and Extraterritoriality

• A Primer on Extraterritoriality
• Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law §§ 404-406 (linked from Extraterritoriality topic page)
• RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Cmty., 579 U.S. 325 (2016) (linked from Extraterritoriality topic page)
• Ninth Circuit Deepens Split over Extraterritoriality of Civil RICO
• New Bill Would Amend the Alien Tort Statute to Apply Extraterritorially
• Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. v. Empagran S. A., 542 U.S. 155 (2004) (linked from Extraterritoriality topic page)
• Throwback Thursday: Ralf Michaels on Empagran’s Empire

International Judicial Assistance: Service of Process

• Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694 (1988) (linked from Service of Process topic page)
• Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, 658 U.N.T.S. 163 (linked from Service of Process topic page)
• Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f) (linked from Service of Process topic page)
• SDNY Rejects Service by Email on Chinese Companies
• Nonperforming States and the Hague Service Convention: What To Do about Russia
• Substituted Service and the Hague Service Convention

International Judicial Assistance: Discovery

• Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. U.S. Dist. Court for the S. Dist. of Iowa, 482 U.S. 522 (1987) (linked from Discovery topic page)
• Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, 847 U.N.T.S. 231 (linked from Discovery topic page)
• 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (linked from Discovery topic page)
• Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241 (2004) (linked from Discovery topic page)
• ZF Automotive: Closing a Door, Opening a Window

Managing Parallel Litigation

• How Do Federal Courts Treat Foreign Parallel Litigation?
• Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law § 425 (antisuit injunctions) (linked from Parallel Proceedings topic page)
• Quaak v. Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, 361 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2004) (linked from Parallel Proceedings topic page)

Forum Non Conveniens

• A Primer on Forum Non Conveniens
• Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235 (1981) (linked from Forum Non Conveniens topic page)
• Can Defendants Be Sued at Home? Forum Non Conveniens, Expendable Lives, and the Legacy of Gore v. U.S. Steel Corp.
• State Doctrines of Forum Non Conveniens: Beyond Gulf Oil

Act of State and Comity Abstention

• A Primer on the Act of State Doctrine
• S. Kirkpatrick & Co. v. Envt’l Tectonics Corp., 493 U.S. 400 (1990) (linked from Act of State topic page)
• Throwback Thursday: International Association of Machinists v. OPEC
• Cert Petition Challenges Second Circuit’s Comity Abstention Doctrine

Recognizing and Enforcing Foreign Judgments

• A Primer on Foreign Judgments
• Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act of 2005 (linked from Foreign Judgments topic page)
• Enforcing Chinese Judgments
• Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (2019) (linked from Foreign Judgments topic page)
• United States Signs the Hague Judgments Convention

Emerging Issues in Transnational Litigation

• Litigating a Russian Bond Default
• Afghan Central Bank Assets Should Be Immune in Cases against the Taliban
• Climate Change Litigation and the “Foreign Affairs” Trump Card