Tag Archives: Waiver

Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, Ltd.: Reaction to Argentina’s Reply Brief

April 15, 2014 By in Discovery, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I only have time for a short post today, but — especially in light of my article about the NML case last week (“NML Article”) — I wanted to share my thoughts about the reply brief filed by Argentina yesterday.

Argentina repeats its claim that “the FSIA make all foreign-state property presumptively immune from judgment execution.”  Reply Brief for Petitioner (“Arg. Reply”) at 3 (emphasis added); see also id. at 14.  As I explained in my article, Argentina’s contention is untenable given the plain language of the FSIA.  NML Article at 5-9.  Section 1609, the statutory provision that confers presumptive execution immunity on a foreign state’s property, is expressly limited to property “in the United States.”  28 U.S.C. § 1609 (emphasis added).  Contrary to Argentina’s argument, nothing in the FSIA confers presumptive immunity upon foreign state property throughout the world. 

Argentina’s response to section 1609’s clear limitation appears to be relegated to a footnote in the middle of its brief, where it states the following: “NML is wrong that foreign-state property outside the United States is not ‘immune,’ but in any event does not dispute that U.S. courts may not execute on such property, and acknowledged as much to the Second Circuit.”  Arg. Reply at 10 n.4 (emphasis in original) (citations omitted).  The fact that Argentina did not even repeat the full argument it made to the Second Circuit on the issue does not, in my opinion, bode well for its position in the Supreme Court.  Cf. NML Article at 7-8.  Moreover, as I stated last week, section 1609’s “in the United States” limitation means that it “neither provides immunity to foreign property nor empowers U.S. courts to order execution against assets held abroad.”  NML Article at 8.  That the FSIA fails to accord United States courts with the power to execute upon property located in foreign jurisdictions does not mean that such property receives “presumptive immunity” under the statute.  Instead — and as Argentina has previously conceded in this litigation — the status of foreign state property overseas is simply a matter of foreign law properly resolved by foreign courts.  Cf. NML Article at 7-8.

Argentina also appears to argue that the pre-FSIA common law should govern with respect to a foreign state’s property overseas.  Arg. Reply at 4-5, 11.  But principles of statutory construction — including those relating to adherence to pre-statutory common law — do not trump a statute’s plain language.  Cf. Sebelius v. Cloer, — U.S. —, 133 S. Ct. 1886, 1895-96 (2013).  Moreover, Argentina nowhere shows that the pre-FSIA regime accorded immunity to a foreign state’s property abroad.  In the absence of such a showing, it is just as likely that immunity issues relating to foreign property were treated as matters of foreign law before the FSIA’s enactment, just as they are now.

Finally, Argentina’s waiver argument (Arg. Reply at 20-23) — which disregards that the issue of waiver with respect to foreign assets is a question of foreign law — fails for the reasons I explained more fully in my article last week.  See NML Article at 10-11.

Republic of Argentina v. NML (No. 12-842) – Why Both Sides Are Wrong

April 11, 2014 By in Discovery Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

NML, a Cayman Islands hedge fund, obtained numerous federal judgments against Argentina arising out of Argentina’s default on payment of its public debt. Argentina refuses to satisfy any of the judgments. Because NML has had little success in finding Argentinian assets in the United States subject to execution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), the district court granted NML broad discovery from non-party banks relating to Argentina’s assets overseas. The discovery dispute between NML and Argentina is currently pending in the United States Supreme Court, with oral argument scheduled for April 21, 2014.

The FSIA has been called a “statutory labyrinth” with “many deliberately vague provisions.” While that characterization may hold true regarding certain sections of the FSIA, the statute is a model of clarity and simplicity with respect to the threshold issue in this case: whether foreign assets are accorded a statutory presumption of immunity from execution. Section 1609 provides that only a foreign state’s property “in the United States” is presumptively immune from execution. Nowhere does the FSIA confer presumptive immunity on a foreign state’s assets held outside the United States.

Notwithstanding section 1609’s plain language, the central contention advanced in the Supreme Court by Argentina and the United States (as amicus) is that Argentina’s assets overseas are entitled to presumptive statutory immunity and, as a result, are immune from discovery under the FSIA. Because Argentina and the United States’ argument cannot be squared with section 1609 itself, it is wrong as a matter of law.

Since the FSIA does not accord presumptive sovereign immunity upon a foreign state’s assets overseas, the discovery dispute between Argentina and NML should not be analyzed under the FSIA. Instead, the Supreme Court’s decision in Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. USDC, 482 U.S. 522 (1987), controls. The district court and the Second Circuit should have reviewed NML’s discovery requests under the comity analysis set forth in Société Nationale, which is broad enough to accommodate all of the interests and policy considerations raised by the parties and the United States.

With regard to NML’s main argument in the Supreme Court, NML fails to recognize the protections afforded by immunity under United States law. NML contends that because the text of the FSIA does not mention “discovery,” the FSIA does not limit the discovery available to plaintiffs in post-judgment proceedings. With respect to domestic assets, NML’s contention is contrary to settled law. Under Supreme Court and circuit precedent, protection from discovery inheres in the very concept of immunity itself. Moreover, with regard to foreign assets, NML does not undertake the comity analysis required under the Supreme Court’s decision in Société Nationale.

In the end, while the discovery dispute between NML and Argentina may be of critical importance to the parties, this case does not belong in the Supreme Court. There is no circuit split with regard to the threshold issue, namely whether foreign assets are protected from execution under the FSIA. Instead, the NML case simply involves the lower courts’ erroneous failure to apply the Société Nationale comity analysis to NML’s discovery requests targeting Argentina’s assets overseas. To avoid issuing an unnecessary decision in the sensitive area of foreign sovereign immunity law, the Supreme Court should consider remanding the matter with instructions to analyze the requested discovery under Société Nationale.

Read the full article via the PDF version below:

Litigation Comment: Richardson v. Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands

November 22, 2013 By in Officials Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Another blog devoted to issues relating to foreign sovereigns in United States courts recently mentioned the case Richardson v. Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands, Civil No. 2008-144, 2013 WL 4494975 (D.V.I. Aug. 20, 2013).  See www.foreignsovereignblog.com.  Although Richardson is unusual because the foreign sovereign is appearing pro se, the case is indeed interesting for a number of reasons:

Capacity: Richardson addresses the circumstances under which a lawsuit against a foreign sovereign official should be deemed a lawsuit against the foreign sovereign itself.  Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *2.  The official capacity issue frequently arises with respect to domestic government officials.   Cf. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166 (1985) (“[A]n official-capacity suit is, in all respects other than name, to be treated as a suit against the entity.  It is not a suit against the official personally, for the real party in interest is the entity”).  In Samantar, the Supreme Court recognized that it was an issue under the FSIA as well: “it may be the case that some actions against an official in his official capacity should be treated as actions against the foreign state itself, as the state is the real party in interest.”  Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305, 325 (2010), citing Graham, 473 U.S. at 166.  It is an issue that should be kept in mind whenever an attorney confronts a case against a foreign sovereign official.

Waiver: The Richardson court correctly held that a foreign state does not waive immunity simply by failing to appear in the matter.  Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *4.  However, the court also accurately stated that a foreign state does waive immunity if it fails to assert immunity in a responsive pleading – which, according to a docket check, is what the pro se foreign sovereign defendant may just have done in a recent filing.  Id.  Richardson highlights that a foreign sovereign can actually increase the risk of waiver by appearing in the action, particularly if defense counsel is not familiar with the FSIA’s waiver rules.

Commercial Activity: In analyzing whether the plaintiff’s claims involved commercial activity, the Richardson court examined whether the conduct was “of a nature that a private person would undertake for profit.”  Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *4.  The “for profit” test is controversial, particularly given the nature/purpose language in 28 U.S.C. section 1603(d).  However, there is a strong argument that whether or not an activity is the type customarily undertaken for profit is an appropriate factor to consider, and I address that issue here.

Scope of Employment/Respondeat Superior: The Richardson court quotes the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Moran for the following proposition relating to the tort exception’s “scope of employment” requirement: “‘[T]he scope of employment provision of the tortious activity exception requires a finding that the doctrine of respondeat superior applies to the tortious act or omission committed by the officer or employee of the foreign state.’”  Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *5, quoting Moran v. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 27 F.3d 169, 173 (5th Cir. 1994).  This again is an issue for a future post, but courts and attorneys in FSIA cases should be careful not to equate the tort exception’s “scope of employment” requirement with a respondeat superior analysis.  Under most circumstances the two are identical, but in certain situations there is a big difference.  Cf. Primeaux v. United States, 181 F.3d 876 (8th Cir. 1999) (en banc).

Political Subdivision: Richardson determined that BVI was a political subdivision of the United Kingdom for purposes of the FSIA.  Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *10.  On its face that determination appears correct, but it is worth noting that there are not many cases under the FSIA addressing what is meant by the term “political subdivision.”  Under the right circumstances, the political subdivision issue is one that could involve very interesting litigation.

Strict Compliance: The Richardson court correctly held that a plaintiff must strictly comply with section 1608(a)’s service of process requirements.  See Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *8; see also https://fsialaw.com/2013/11/07/the-ninth-circuits-substantial-service-error/.  However, Richardson is unusual in that the court appeared to hold that the strict compliance standard applied to the requirements of the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, Nov. 15, 1965, 658 U.N.T.S. 163 (“Hague Service Convention”).  See Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *13; see also 28 U.S.C. § 1608(a)(2).  There are not many cases under section 1608(a)(2), but applying a strict compliance standard to the Hague Service Convention requirements appears to be a logical extension of FSIA service precedent.

Official Immunity: Official immunity is relatively straightforward when the Executive Branch files a suggestion of immunity.  See, e.g., Rosenberg v. Lashkar-e-Taiba, — F. Supp. 2d — , 2013 WL 5502851 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2013).  Richardson provides an example of a court finding a foreign sovereign official immune even in the absence of a suggestion of immunity from the Executive Branch.  Richardson, 2013 WL 4494975, at *16; see also Samantar, 560 U.S. at 311 (discussing that, under the common law, a district court “had authority to decide for itself whether all the requisites for such immunity existed” in the “absence of recognition of the immunity by the Department of State”) (citations and internal quotations omitted).  A court determination of official immunity can be a useful tool for FSIA defense counsel in cases against officials or in situations where discovery is sought from foreign sovereign officials.