The World in U.S. Courts:
Winter 2015

Please click the links below to read a summary of the decision described. Copies of any case discussed in this issue are available upon request.

Please note that Orrick may be representing parties in the cases discussed below.  Nothing in the informal summaries contained in this publication should be taken as commenting on the merits of cases, or as binding constructions of court opinions that are discussed.

Alien Tort Statute (ATS)/Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA)/Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA)/Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA)

District Court Applies FSIA To Dismiss Complaint Regarding Seizure of U.S. Currency by British Police at Heathrow Airport

Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of ATS Claim Alleging Torture of Sikhs in India

Court of Appeals Rejects ATS Claim Because Defendants’ Conduct, Even Though Sufficiently Connected to the U.S., Did Not Violate International Law

Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA")

District Court Orders Domain Name To Be Transferred to Company Invoking Anti-Cybersquatting Statute

Antitrust/Sherman Act/Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act (FTAIA)

District Court Finds Allegation of “Import Commerce” Adequate to Avoid Application of FTAIA Limitations on Sherman Act

District Court Permits Plaintiffs to Amend Complaint To Allege Sherman Act Damages Arising from Non-U.S. Sales of eBooks

Court of Appeals Rejects Application of Sherman Act to Alleged Injury to Competition Outside the U.S.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Jurisdiction Under FCPA Not Dependent on Physical Presence in U.S.

Intellectual Property (Patent)

Court of Appeals Clarifies Patent Act Jurisdiction Where Substantial Activities in Sales Transactions Occur Outside U.S.

District Court Concludes That U.S. Contracting for Sales Outside the U.S. Cannot Lead to an Infringing “Sale” or “Offer To Sell”

Securities Law

District Court Concludes That Substantive Geographical Limitations on Securities Laws Do Not Affect Personal Jurisdiction Analysis

White Collar Criminal

District Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge to Prosecution Of Non-U.S. Citizen Arrested On the High Seas and Charged With Violations of U.S. Drug Laws

District Court Rejects Statutory and Constitutional Challenge to Obstruction of Justice Prosecution Arising Out of Alleged Murder in Colombia

District Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge Where Charge Based in Part on Evidence Seized in Cambodia in Violation of Cambodian Law

Forum Non Conveniens/International Comity

District Court Dismisses Does Not Give Weight to Forum Selection Clause But Nonetheless Dismisses Case on Forum Non Conveniens Grounds

Personal Jurisdiction

District Court Finds Jurisdiction Over Fraud Claims but Not Related Tortious Interference and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Foreign Defendants

District Court Grants Third-Party Cross-Claim Malaysian Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction Over Italian Officer of American Corporation

District Court Declines To Exercise Personal Jurisdiction Where the Only Connections With the Forum State Stemmed From Plaintiff’s Domicile

District Court finds personal jurisdiction over German Entity Engaging in Trademark Infringement and Cybersquatting

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction Based On Non-U.S. Defendant’s Operation of Website Advertising in Forum State

District Court Exercises Personal Jurisdiction Where Defendants Acquired and Breached a Duty to Plaintiff With Knowledge That the Injury to Plaintiff’s Business Would Be Felt in The Forum State

District Court Rejects Effort To Dismiss Suit Brought by Members of the U.S. Military For Injuries Arising From Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

District Court Finds Standards for “Personal Jurisdiction” Under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) Differ From Those in the Ordinary Case

District Court Declines to Exercise Personal Jurisdiction Where Plaintiff Failed To Show that Actions by Defendant Operating Outside of U.S. Caused Harm that it Knew Would Likely be Suffered in Forum State

Additional Jurisdictional Discovery Ordered Against India and Hong Kong Defendants on Copyright Infringement and Unfair Competition Claims

District Court Finds Defendants Judicially Estopped From Arguing that Personal Jurisdiction Existed Where Defendants Had Consistently Taken the Contrary Position in a Previous Action

Court of Appeals Affirms Jurisdiction Over Non-U.S. Corporations and Individual, Applying Tort Standard in Fraud Claim Involving Unfunded Loan Agreement

District Court Grants Additional Jurisdictional Discovery on Norwegian Defendant’s Secondment Agreements With U.S. Entities

District Court Exercises Personal Jurisdiction Over Defendant Non-U.S. Executive Who Operated an Affiliate Corporation in the Forum State

District Court Concludes That Substantive Geographical Limitations on Securities Laws Do Not Affect Personal Jurisdiction Analysis

District Court Concludes That the PLO and the Palestinian Authority Should Be Considered “At Home” in the U.S. for Purposes of Asserting General Personal Jurisdiction Over Them

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