The World in U.S. Courts:
Winter 2014

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)

Court of Appeals Holds That Corporations May be Sued Under ATS and TVPA

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)

Full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Rules That Sale of Eurail Pass by U.S. Travel Agent Allows Railroad Operated by Government of Austria To Be Sued in U.S. Courts For Passenger’s Accident in Austria

Court of Appeals Refuses to Make Suits Against Non-U.S. Governments Easier Where IP Violations Are Claimed

Intellectual Property: IP

Court of Appeals Refuses to Make Suits Against Foreign Governments Over IP Violations Easier Than Over Other Violations of Law

District Court Finds No Lanham Act Jurisdiction Over U.K. Seller of Allegedly Infringing Product; Third-Party Websites’ U.S. Activities Insufficient to Support Jurisdiction

U.S. District Court Dismisses Lanham Act Challenge Where Creation of Financial Instrument in New York Was Unrelated to Claim That Singaporean Investors Were Deceived by False Advertising

District Court Finds Jurisdiction Over Alleged Lanham Act Violations in Macau Because Defendants U.S. Citizens; No Jurisdiction Over Non-U.S. Defendants That Did Not Engage in Marketing to U.S.

District Court Finds No Lanham Act Jurisdiction Where Allegedly Infringing Fasteners Sold in Asia To Build Servers Imported Into the U.S.

District Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Hear Lanham Act Claim Arising Out of Allegedly Infringing Canadian Sale of Products Bought in U.S., Where U.S. Plaintiff Did Not Do Business in Canada and Canadian Defendant Did Not Do Business in U.S.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)/Dodd-Frank Act Anti-Retaliation Provision

District Court Has No Jurisdiction Over Claim by Chinese Employee To Have Been Discharged by German Company in Retaliation for Reporting Kickback Scheme in Asia

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

District Court Holds that RICO Does Not Apply to Conduct That Did Not Take Place in the United States

Personal Jurisdiction

[Editors’ Note: The decisions discussed below preceded the U.S. Supreme Court’s January 2014 decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman, which should be consulted with respect to questions of personal jurisdiction over foreign parent corporations whose subsidiaries do business in the U.S. The Daimler AG case was the subject of a special edition of The World in U.S. Courts, which may be accessed from this website.]

District Court Rejects Personal Jurisdiction Over Japanese Subsidiary Due to Lack of Sufficient Evidence of Control by U.S. Parent Corporation

Court of Appeals Finds Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign Bank Based on Use of U.S. Bank Account For Alleged Transfer to Terrorist Organization

District Court Rejects Personal Jurisdiction Over Swedish Parent Corporation

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction Over Netherlands Corporation In Futures Market Manipulation Suit

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U.S. Laws Discussed in This Issue

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