international civil litigation - gbv

INTERNATIONAL CIVILLITIGATION:

CASES AND MATERIALS ON THERISE OF INTERMESTIC LAW

By

Ralph G. SteinhardtArthur Selwyn Miller Research Professor of LawThe George Washington University Law School

f LexisNexis™Matthew Bender*

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Preface v

Acknowledgments vii

Permissions ix

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

A. Orientation 1

B. A Survival Guide to International Law 5

C. Illustrative Cases, Recurring Issues 21

Fildrtiga v. Pena-Irala 22Notes and Questions on Fildrtiga 35Marble Ceramic Center v. Ceramica Nuova D'Agostino . . . 37N o t e s a n d Ques t i ons on Marble Ceramic Center 44

C h a p t e r 2 . J u r i s d i c t i o n t o A d j u d i c a t e 4 7

A. T h e T r a d i t i o n a l C o n s t r a i n t s : A F i r s t -Yea r O r d e a l Revis i ted . . . . 47

Helicopteros Nacionales de Columbia, SA. v. Hall 48Notes and Questions on Helicopteros and the Constitutional

Limits on Personal Jurisdiction in Intermestic Cases . . 56Asahi Metal Industry Co., Ltd. v. Superior Court 57Notes and Questions on Asahi 66

B. Special Problems in the Aftermath of Globalization 68

1. The Jurisdictional Consequences of CorporateStructures 68

Roorda v. Volkswagenwerk, A.G. 68

Bulova Watch Co., Inc. v. Hattori & Co., Ltd 76

Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co 84

Notes and Questions 93

2. Aggregating National Contacts 94

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Rule 4(k)(l)(D) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure 95

Go-Video, Inc. v. Akai Electric. Co., Ltd 96

Notes and Questions on Go-Video and Rule

4(k)(l)(D) 100

Rule 4(k)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure . . . 102

Pyrenee, Ltd. v. Wocom Commodities, Ltd 102

Notes and Questions on Pyrenee Ltd. and Rule4(k)(2) 106

Chapter 3. Determining the Proper Forum 109

A. The Inconvenient Forum Doctrine in a Shrinking World 110

Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno I l lNotes and Questions on Piper 119Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co 122Notes and Questions on Wiwa 129Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Ltd. v. Walt Disney

Co 130Note on the Fantasia Case and Multiterritorial Copyright

Cases 133B. Forum Selection Clauses 134

1. Reversing the Presumption against Forum SelectionClauses 134

The Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co 134

Notes and Questions on The Bremen 140

Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute 142

Notes and Questions on Carnival Lines 149

2. Forum Selection Clauses and Statutes: Mitsubishi Motors,Sky Reefer, and their Aftermath 150

Richards v. Lloyd's of London 152

Notes and Questions on Lloyd's of London 160

3. Attempts at Harmonization and Simplification 161

Model Choice of Forum Act 161

Conflict of Jurisdiction Model Act 162

Chapter 4. Finding the Applicable Law: Choice of Law and theJurisdiction to Prescribe 165

A. Constraints of Domestic Law 165

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1. Constitutional Limitations on State Choice-of-LawRules 165

a. Horizontal Choice of Law: Due Process and the Full Faithand Credit Clause 166

Allstate Insurance Co. v. Hague 166

Notes and Questions on Allstate 175

b. Vertical Choice of Law: Federalism, Preemption, and theForeign Affairs Power 177

Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council 179

Note on Gerling Global Reinsurance Corp. v.Low 187

Notes and Questions on Crosby, Gerling, and theTransnational Consequences of the FederalistRenaissance 190

2. The Received State Systems 192

Pancotto v. Sociedade de Safaris de Mozambique,S.A.R.L 193

Notes and Questions on Pancotto and the Knock-kneed Armyof State Techniques 200

B. International Legal Constraints on the Choice of Law 201

1. International Jurisdictional Standards and the Reach ofDomestic Law 201

United States v. Aluminum Co. of America 205

Notes and Questions on Alcoa and the Two-ProngedTest 207

Boureslan and the Equal Employment OpportunityCommission v. Arabian American Oil Co 207

Notes and Questions on Boureslan 217

2. The Role of Comity 218

Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. California 218

Notes and Questions on Hartford Fire Insurance, Comity,and the Balancing Test 225

C. Party Autonomy 229

Gregory Milanovich v. Costa Crociere, S.p.A 231Notes and Questions on Milanovich 236Triad Financial Establishment v. Tumpane Co 236Northrop Corp. v. Triad International Marketing S.A. . . . 238Notes and Questions on the Triad Litigation 242

D. Choosing International Law 243

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1. Treaties as the Rule-of-Decision: The Self-Executing TreatyDoctrine 243

Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law, § 111 . . 245

Asakura v. City of Seattle 245

Haitian Refugee Center v. Gracey 246

People of Saipan v. U.S. Department of Interior 250

Notes and Questions on the Self-Executing Treaty Doctrine

254

2. The Charming Betsy Principle: Interpreting Domestic Statutesin Light of International Law 257

Chapter 5. International Judicial Assistance: Service of Processand the Production of Evidence 259

A. Service of Process 259

Federal Statutory Provisions 260Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4(f) 261Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial

Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters 262

1. To What Problem is the Hague Convention aSolution? 266

Volkswagenwerk AG v. Schlunk 266

Notes and Questions on Schlunk 274

2. Problems in the Aftermath of the Hague Convention . . . 275

a. Did the Hague Convention Survive Being

Schlunked? 275

Heredia v. Transport S.A.S., Inc. and Presenza . . 275

b. "Sending" versus "Serving" 277

Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. v. Superior Court 277

Bankston v. Toyota Motor Corp 281

Statement of the Japanese Delegation before theHague Conference on Private InternationalLaw 284United States Department of State, Opinion Regardingthe Bankston Case and Service by Mail to Japanunder the Hague Service Convention 284Notes and Questions 285

c. Varieties of Substituted Service 287

Davies v. Jobs & Adverts Online, GmbH 287

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d . T h e P r o p e r R e m e d y f o r V i o l a t i n g t h e C o n v e n t i o n . . . 2 9 1

Rhodes v. J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Inc 291e. Service in Countries That Are Not Parties to the HagueConvention 293

Tinicum Properties Associates, v. Garnett 293B. Obtaining Evidence Abroad 296

1. The Risk of Controversy 298

Restatement (Third) §§ 442, 473, 474 298

Selected Provisions from U.S. Code, Title 28 (28 U.S.C.

§§ 1781, 1782, 1783, and 1784) 300

Societe Internationale S.A. v. Rogers 302

Notes and Questions on Rogers 306

United States v. First National City Bank("Citibank") 307Notes and Questions on Citibank 314In re Uranium Antitrust Litigation 315Notes and Questions on Uranium AntitrustLitigation 320

2. Managing the Risk: The Hague Evidence Convention and itsDiscontents 321

Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil orCommercial Matters 321Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale v. DistrictCourt 325

Notes and Questions on Aerospatiale 341

3. The Aftermath of Aerospatiale 341a. The Methodology of Balancing: Will Foreign Interests EverPrevail over U.S. Interests in a U.S. Court? 341

Richmark Corp. v. Timber Falling Consultants . . 341

Reinsurance Company of America, Inc. v.Administratia Asigurarilor de Stat 349Notes and Questions on the Balancing Test inRichmark and RCA 356

b. The Exclusivity of the Hague EvidenceConvention 357

In re Perrier Bottled Water Litigation 357

In re Benton Graphics v. Uddeholm Corp 361

Notes and Questions 366c. The Doctrine and the Logistics of Obtaining EvidenceOutside the Convention Framework 368

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In re Vitamins Antitrust Litigation 368


U.S. Department of State, Preparation of Letters

Rogatory 372

C. U.S. Discovery in Aid of Foreign Litigation: 28 U.S.C. § 1782. . . . 378

In the Matter of the Application of Time, Inc 378Notes and Questions on Section 1782 and Application of Time,

Inc 384

Chapter 6. Doctrines of Restraint and Diffidence 387

A. Foreign Sovereign Immunity 388

1. History and Structure of the Foreign Sovereign ImmunityDoctrine 388

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 389

2. The Statute in Operation 394

Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. . . 394

Notes and Questions on Amerada Hess 401

The Problem of Attribution: The Bancec Litigation . . . 405

First National City Bank v. Banco Para el Comercio Exterior

de Cuba 406

Notes and Questions on Bancec 413

3. Litigating the Exceptions to Foreign Sovereign

Immunity 415

a. The Commercial Activity Exception 415

28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2) 415

1. The Supreme Court Speaks 415

Republic of Argentina v. Weltover 415

Saudi Arabia v. Nelson 421

Notes and Questions on Weltover andNelson 431

2. The Lower Courts At Work: The Power ofCharacterization 432

MOL, Inc. v. Bangladesh 432Texas Trading & Milling Corp. v. Federal Republicof Nigeria 434

Notes and Questions on MOL and TexasTrading 440

b. The Waiver Exception 442

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28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(l) 442Foremost-McKesson, Inc. v. Islamic Republic ofIran 442Notes and Questions on Waiver 446

c. The Tort Exception 44928 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(5) 449Letelier v. Chile 450Notes and Questions on Letelier 453In re SEDCO, Inc 454Olsen ex rel. Sheldon v. Government of Mexico . . 456Notes and Questions on SEDCO and Olsen . . . . 460

d. The Takings Exception 46328 U.S.C. § 1605(aX3) 463Siderman de Blake v. Republic of Argentina . . . 463Zappia Middle East Const. Co., Ltd. v. Emirate of AbuDhabi 468Notes and Questions on the Takings Exception . . 471

e. The Arbitration Exception 474

28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(6) 474

S & Davis Int'l, Inc. v. Republic of Yemen 475

Cargill Int'l S.A. v. MIT Pavel Dybenko 478Notes and Questions on S & Davis, Cargill, and theArbitration Exception 483

f. The Terrorism Exception 484

28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(7) 484

Flatow v. Iran 485

Notes and Questions on Flatow and the Prospect ofLitigating Terrorism 490

4. The Problem of Executing Judgments 491

28 U.S.C. §§ 1609, 1610 491

Letelier v. Chile 492

Notes and Questions on Letelier 499

Flatow v. Iran 500

Notes and Questions on Flatow 506

B. The Act of State Doctrine 507

1. Introduction 508

Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law, §§ 443,444 508

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2. The Doctrine Articulated 510

Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino 510

Notes and Questions on Sabbatino 519

3. Judicial Hostility Towards a Judicially-CreatedDoctrine 522

W.S. Kirkpatrick & Co. v. Environmental Tectonics Corp.,Int'l 522

Notes and Questions on Kirkpatrick 527

4. The Doctrine Applied (or Not) 528

The Republic of the Philippines v. Ferdinand E.

Marcos 528

Braka v. Bancomer, S.N.C. 533

Notes and Questions on Marcos and Braka 536

5. Litigating the Limitations on the Doctrine 538

a. The Situs Requirement: Territoriality 538

Republic of Iraq v. First National City Bank . . . 538

Notes and Questions on Braka and Iraq 541

b. The "Unambiguous Agreement7Clear LawException 543

Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Co. v. Provisional MilitaryGovernment of Socialist Ethiopia 543

Notes and Questions on Kalamazoo Spice 548

c. The Commercial Activity Exception 548

1. The Supreme Court Speaks (But What Does ItSay?) 548

Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc. v. Republic ofCuba 548

Notes and Questions on Dunhill 556

2. Dunhill's Ambiguity in the Lower Courts . . . . 557

Arango v. Guzman Travel Advisors Corp. . . . 559

Virtual Defense and Development International,Inc. v. Republic of Moldova 561

World Wide Minerals Ltd. v. Republic ofKazakhstan 564

Notes and Questions on the Commercial ActivityException 565

d. Congressional "Overrides:" The Second HickenlooperAmendment and its Modern Progeny 566

West v. Multibanco Comermex, S.A 567

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Faysound Ltd. v. Walter Fuller Aircraft Sales,Inc 570

Notes and Questions on West and Faysound . . . 575

e. The Power of Executive Suggestion: The "Bernstein

Exception" 577

C. The Political Question Doctrine 580

767 Third Avenue Associates v. Consulate General of SocialistFederal Republic of Yugoslavia 582

Notes and Questions on the Political Question Doctrine . . 587

D. Diplomatic and Consular Immunity 588

28 U.S.C. § 1351 588United States Diplomatic Relations Act 589Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 590Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 593Mukaddam v. Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the

United Nations 597Berdakin v. Consulado de la Republica de El Salvador . . 600Notes and Questions on Berdakin, Mukaddam, and Diplomatic

or Consular Immunity 604

E. Head-of-State Immunity 605

Lafontant v. Aristide 605Notes and Questions on Lafontant and Head-of-State Immunity

(including Former Heads-of-State) 610

Chapter 7. Transnational Res Judicata 613

A. Foreign Judgments in U.S. Courts 614

1. Foreign Judgments in the Absence of Statutes or Treaties:The Permissive Regime of Hilton v. Guyot 616

Hilton v. Guyot 616

Notes and Questions on Hilton v. Guyot 622

2. Approximate Harmony: Uniform Acts andRestatements 626

The Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments RecognitionAct 627Notes and Questions on the UFMJRA 628

3. Litigating the Standards for Recognition andEnforcement 633

a. Notice and Jurisdiction 633

S.C. Chimexim S.A. v. Velco Enterprises Ltd. . . . 634

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Notes and Questions on the JurisdictionalPrerequisite 642

b. Due Process Abroad 644

Bank Melli Iran v. Pahlavi 644

Notes and Questions on Bank Melli Iran 648

c. Public Policy 649

Southwest Livestock and Trucking Co., Inc. v.Ramon 650Yahoo!, Inc. v. La Ligue contre le Racisme etI'Antisemitisme 655

Notes and Questions on the Public PolicyDoctrine 661

B. Innocents Abroad: U.S. Judgments in Foreign Courts and theDevelopment of a Hague Judgments Convention 663

Beth Van Schaack, In Defense of Civil Redress: The DomesticEnforcement of Human Rights Norms in the Context of theProposed Hague Judgments Convention, 42 HARV. INTL L. J.141, 171-78 (2001) 665

Statement of Jeffrey D. Kovar, Assistant Legal Adviser forPrivate International Law, U.S. Department of State, beforethe Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property,Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives(June 29, 2000) 671


C. Parallel Proceedings 676

1. Alternative #1: Simultaneous Proceedings 677Abdullah Sayid Rajab Al-Rifai & Sons W.L.L. v. McDonnellDouglas Foreign Sales Corp 677

Notes and Questions on the Predisposition to AllowSimultaneous Proceedings 680

2. Alternative #2: Lis alibi pendens: Abstention, Stays, andDismissals 681

Turner Entertainment Co. v. Degeto Film GmbH 681

Notes and Questions on Domestic Divestiture and TurnerEntertainment 685

3. Alternative #3: The Antisuit Injunction 687

Kirby Engineering v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. . . . 687

Notes and Questions on Antisuit Injunctions 692

D. The Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in DomesticCourts 694

1. The System Established 694

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United Nations Convention on the Recognition andEnforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New YorkConvention) 696


2. Enforcing the Agreement to Arbitrate 702

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth,

Inc 702

Notes and Questions on Mitsubishi 714

3. Enforcing the Award (or Not) 717

Europcar Italia S.p.A. v. Maiellano Tours, Inc 717

Baker Marine (Nig.) Ltd. v. Chevron (Nig.) Ltd. 723

Notes and Questions on Europcar and Baker Marine . . 725

Chapter 8. Professional Responsibility in TransnationalCases 729

A. Introduction 729

B. The Unauthorized Practice of Law 734

Birbrower, Montalbano, Condon, P.C. & Frank v. Superior

Court 735

El Gemayel v. Seaman 743

Notes and Questions on Birbrower and El Gemayel . . . . 745

The Special Problem of Transnational Affiliations and Foreign

Legal Consultants 750

In the Matter of Albert F. Dalena 751

American Bar Association, Formal Opinion 01-423 (2001)("Forming Partnerships with Foreign Lawyers") 756

Notes and Questions on Dalena and Opinion 01-423 . . . . 762Position on Integrated Forms of Co-Operation between Lawyers

and Persons Outside the Legal Profession (Athens1999) 764

C. Conflicts of Interest 766

Image Technical Services, Inc., v. Eastman Kodak Co. . . . 767

Notes and Questions on Kodak 773

D. Client Confidentiality and the Attorney-Client Privilege 776

Renfield Corp. v. Remy Martin & Co 777Notes and Questions on Renfield and Client

Confidentiality 780

E. Towards an International Conception of the Profession 782

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Table of Cases TC-1

Index 1-1