In a highly anticipated ruling published last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in NextEra Energy v. Spain that U.S. district courts have jurisdiction to enforce arbitral awards issued in intra-EU...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently dismissed a long-running dispute against Russia concerning the library of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (the Library), a collection of books and papers once held by the...more
After it became clear that they would lose World War II, Nazi Germany and Hungary raced to complete their eradication of the Jews before the Axis surrendered. The Axis powers wiped out more than two-thirds of Hungary’s...more
The doctrine of sovereign immunity is a foundational element of the interplay between a governmental investor’s contractual obligation to satisfy capital calls and a fund’s or lender’s ability to enforce that obligation...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued three decisions: MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC, No. 21-1270: This bankruptcy case involved the interpretation of Bankruptcy Code § 363(m) and its...more
On October 3, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, No. 21-1450 (“Halkbank”), to determine whether federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit examines whether private companies can count as foreign sovereigns for purposes of immunity, and when broad statements can plausibly be read to refer to specific individuals under Washington State...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the following three decisions: Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, No. 19-351: In this Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”) case, the respondents - heirs of...more
(WASHINGTON-October 22, 2020) The heirs to the Jewish art dealers who were forced to sell the medieval devotional art collection known as the Welfenschatz (in English, the Guelph Treasure) to agents of Hermann Goering in 1935...more
(WASHINGTON-July 2, 2020) The United States Supreme Court today agreed to hear the appeal by Germany and the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (SPK) seeking to dismiss the restitution claim by the heirs to the so-called...more
Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I, No. 19-416; Cargill, Inc. v. Doe I, No. 19-453: 1) Whether an aiding and abetting claim against a domestic corporation brought under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. §1350, may overcome the...more
On behalf of my clients seeking restitution of the Guelph Treasure, or Welfenschatz, we filed today our supplemental brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in response to the Brief of the United States as Amicus Curiae that the...more
Late Tuesday evening—the day after Memorial Day no less—the United States Office of the Solicitor General filed a brief amicus curiae in our clients’ pending case against the Federal Republic of Germany and the Stiftung...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today dismissed the petition to rehear en banc last year’s landmark ruling that the heirs of the art dealers who sold the Guelph Treasure (or Welfenschatz) may pursue their...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld the judgment against Marei von Saher on her claims against the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to recover Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The Cranachs...more
(WASHINGTON-July 10, 2018) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has affirmed the right of the heirs to the so-called Guelph Treasure (known in German as the Welfenschatz) to seek restitution in U.S. courts for the...more
In the United States, unlike in many civil law jurisdictions, the federal courts are vested with broad civil subpoena power. That power, however, is limited by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. §§...more
A federal appeals court has upheld the growing consensus that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) confers jurisdiction over foreign state actors in possession of art allegedly looted by and/or overseen by the Nazis....more
On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne, a dispute over the proper pleading standards for parties suing foreign governments in U.S. courts. The decision was an...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued decisions in two cases today: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne Int’l Drilling Co., No. 15-423: Respondent companies brought suit in federal court against...more
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that Germany can be sued for the return of Nazi-looted art and artifacts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. This is the first time Germany will...more
The decision on Friday to allow our clients’ claims to proceed against German and the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz for the restitution of the Guelph Treasure (or Welfenschatz) is ground-breaking in important respects,...more
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that claims over the famed Guelph Treasure can proceed against Germany in a United States court. This is the first time Germany will have to defend...more
The U.S. Congress overturned a veto by President Obama allowing families of the victims of September 11 to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts. While the U.S. domestic politics will be debated elsewhere (like everything else this...more
In a divided opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a district court ruling that dismissed a case against the Czech Republic on jurisdictional grounds. The Appeals Court revived the case, finding the...more