In Philipp v. Federal Republic of Germany, No. 17-7064, 925 F.3d 1349 (D.C. Cir. 2019), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed an earlier decision allowing a lawsuit involving art taken by the Nazis to proceed in district court in Washington, D.C., but also highlighted judicial disagreement regarding the application of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (āFSIAā). [1] The FSIA generally bars claims against foreign governments, but specifically provides…
The general rule in the United States is that litigants are not required to post security bonds with the court in the event that they ultimately may be liable to the other party. Indeed, in what is often called the āAmerican Rule,ā each party to litigation bears its own costs and expenses, including attorneysā fees, no matter the outcome. US rules often allow a prevailing party to recover ācosts,ā but only costs other than attorneysā…
In Shippitsa Ltd. v. Slack, No. 18-CV-1036, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121994 (N.D. Tex. July 23, 2019), a federal district court reiterated the standards applicable to determining whether there is personal jurisdiction over a foreign defendant in the context of online web businesses and allegations of trademark infringement,. The court found that under federal law, the Cyprus-incorporated and -headquartered defendantās interactive website allowing the commercial exchange of information with Texas customers was sufficient for the…