The World in U.S. Courts:
Winter 2016

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)/Political Question Doctrine/Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA)/ Act of State Doctrine

District Court Dismisses ATS Claim Where Alleged Conduct in US Was Not Directly Linked to Injuries Claimed in Other Countries

Court of Appeals Finds "Takings" Exception to FSIA Inapplicable because Actions of Nonparty Instrumentalities of Government Could not be Imputed to the Defendant

District Court finds Korean Agency's Decision to Enter into Contract with "Best Efforts" Clause to fall within FSIA "Commercial Activity" Exception

District Court Dismisses Torture Claims under the Foreign Official Immunity Doctrine

Court of Appeals Finds Indirect Ownership and Activities of Related National Entities do not Satisfy "Commercial Activity" Exception to FSIA

District Court Finds FSIA "Commercial Exception" Inapplicable where US Conduct of Non-Employee Advisor to Defendant was neither Substantial nor Commercial in Nature

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

District Court Permits Plaintiffs to Provide Limited Details in Complaint about Assignments of Claims on which Standing is based, but Requires Proffer on Satisfaction of FTAIA Requirements

District Court Determines Applicability of the FTAIA's Import Exception by Category of Transaction, and Finds the FTAIA Limits State Antitrust Laws

District Court Finds FTAIA Requirements Satisfied for Component Product that has no Use other than as a Component, and whose Cost Constitutes a Substantial Portion of the Cost of Finished Products

District Court Concludes that US Purchaser of Refrigerators from its Minority-Owned Subsidiary could not Sue for Injury Allegedly Suffered by Subsidiary that was the Victim of Price-Fixing

Bankruptcy

District Court finds Fraudulent Transfer Provisions of the Bankruptcy Code do not apply Extraterritorially

Bankruptcy Court finds no personal jurisdiction over Polish residents in connection with trustee’s claims about interests in Polish LLCs

Intellectual Property – Patent

District Court Finds no US Infringement where Machinery at Issue Manufactured and Sold outside the US, Despite some US Activities

District Court finds no US "Offer for Sale" from Non-US Websites that did not Target Sales to US Customers

Intellectual Property – Trademarks/Lanham Act

District Court finds no US Trademark Infringement where Offending Products not allegedly Sold in US

Intellectual Property – Copyright

District Court Finds that US Authorization of Non-US Infringement does Not State a Claim under the Copyright Act

District Court finds no US Trademark Infringement from Non-US Websites That did not Target Sales to US Customers

District Court finds that Streaming of Copyrighted Programs from Non-US Servers to Viewers in the US was not "Wholly Extraterritorial," and therefore was Subject to the US Copyright Act

International Trade/US Trade Sanctions/ Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations

Magistrate Judge Concludes that US Sanctions Applied to Turkish Nationals who, from Outside the US, Arranged for US Company to make Sale of Products to Iran through Canada and Turkey

District Court Finds US Bank Processing of Dollar-Denominated Transactions Satisfies any Requirement for a US Nexus in Prosecution for Violation of the IEEPA and the ISTR

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

District Court finds "Domestic Injury" where Eastern European Plaintiffs had been Defrauded into Making Purchases of Automobiles on US-Based Websites

District Court Rejects Theory that "US Deprivation" of Assets Constitutes US Domestic Injury

District Court finds no US Injury in Allegedly Unlawful Seizure of Mexican Property Development Venture

District Court Concludes that Defendants' Emigration to US with Allegedly Stolen Funds Cannot Establish a US "Domestic Injury" to Support Private RICO Claim

District Court Concludes that Taiwanese Corporation Suffered US Domestic Injury in Connection With its US Operations

District Court Finds Alleged Loss of Sales in Angolan Auto Market Cannot Establish US Injury to Support RICO Claim

Securities Law/Commodities Exchange Act (CEA)

District Court Dismisses Securities Fraud Case where Securities were not Traded on a US Exchange and the Complaint Alleged no Facts Describing where Relevant Transactions Occurred

Personal Jurisdiction

District Court Rejects "Agency" Theory for Personal Jurisdiction

District Court Dismisses Claims against Non-Signatories to Promissory Note because Requirements of "Alter Ego" Liability not met

Magistrate Judge Concludes that Jurisdiction is Properly Based on Single Sale of Heavy Machinery to Customer in New York

District Court Finds Specific Personal Jurisdiction over non-US Defendants Based on Statements in Securities Offering Documents

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction over Non-Resident, Non-Signatories to Contract Based On Alter Ego Analysis

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction over one Canadian Corporation on Alter Ego Theory, but no Personal Jurisdiction over Canadian Tortfeasor whose Contacts with the State did not relate to Alleged Negligence

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction over Executive of Italian Implant Manufacturer who Signed Contract, but not over Low-Level Employee who was only Involved with Contract on Administrative Level

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction over Executive of Hungarian Telecommunications Company who Participated in SEC Filings that Allegedly Aided in Bribery Scheme

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