The World in U.S. Courts:
Fall 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)/Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA)/Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA)

District Court Vacates Default Judgment and Dismisses Complaint Against Nepalese Banking Entities on FSIA Grounds, Finding Neither the "Commercial Activity" Nor "Taking" Exception applicable

Court of Appeals Dismisses ATS and TVPA Claims, Finding Alleged Coordination of Illegal Activities From the U.S. Insufficient to Support ATS Jurisdiction

District Court Rejects Prudential Challenges to ATS Complaint Because of the Inadequacy of a Non-U.S. Forum for the Claim, but Dismisses Claim Without Prejudice Based on Failure to Allege Sufficient Connection With U.S.

District Court Finds Mere Knowledge in U.S. of Illegal Actions Elsewhere an Inadequate Basis for ATS Liability and Concludes That TVPA Cannot Support "Aiding and Abetting" Claim

District Court Requires U.S. Actions to Themselves Violate International Norms for ATS Claim to Exist

Antiterrorism Act

Court of Appeals Gives Extraterritorial Effect to Antiterrorism Act Despite Causing "Tension" With Decisions Made by U.K. Government

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

District Court holds that FTAIA Does Not Bar Antitrust Claim of U.S. Purchaser of Televisions That Incorporate Price-Fixed Screens

District Court Rejects application of FTAIA Where U.S. Subsidiary Allegedly Manufactured and Sold Price-Fixed Bearings at the Direction of its Non-U.S. Parent

District Court Declines To Address A Conditional Motion to Dismiss but Suggests Inapplicability of FTAIA to State Antitrust Claims

District Court Construes FTAIA to Permit Claims By an Indirect U.S. Purchaser Where the "Intent" of the Conspirators Was To Raise Prices of Component and Finished Products Alike in the U.S.

Intellectual Property (Copyright)

District Court Permits Copyright Infringement Action  Based on Publication of Books in the U.K. Containing U.S. Copyrighted Image Where U.S. Infringement Permitted U.K. Infringement To Occur

Intellectual Property (Patent)

District Court Finds Master Purchase Agreement to Which U.S. Distributor Was a Party Could Establish Required U.S. Link to Patent Infringement Claim Arising Out of Purchase Order Between Canadian and U.S. Companies

Intellectual Property (Trademark)

District Court Imposes Injunctive Relief in Trademark Infringement Case But Awards No Damages Based on Sales Outside U.S.

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of RICO Claim Based on Lack of Extraterritorial Reach of Predicate Wire Fraud Violation

District Court Concludes that RICO Cannot Be Given Extraterritorial Application, But That Sufficient Connection With U.S. Was Alleged Nonetheless

Applying Older Standards, District Court Finds That U.S. Alleged Fraud Had Sufficient Links With U.S. to Support RICO Claim

District Court Allows Plaintiffs to Replead RICO Violations Because of Change in Law

District Court Upholds Indictment Alleging U.S.-Based RICO Violation, Even Though Scheme Implemented Via Servers Located in Russia

Securities Law

Court of Appeals Limits Claims Under Commodities Exchange Act to Transactions occurring in U.S.

Court of Appeals Finds Securities-Based Swap Agreements Allegedly Entered Into in the U.S. Not Subject to Section 10(b) Claim

Court of Appeals Holds that "Whistleblower" Protection Provision of Dodd-Frank Amendments to U.S. Securities Laws Do Not Apply Extraterritorially

Court of Appeals Affirms Securities Fraud Convictions Upon Finding that Transactions Occurring "Primarily" or "Partially" in the U.S. Did Not Implicate Extraterritoriality Limitations

Personal Jurisdiction

District Court Finds No Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over German Employee of New York Company

District Court Finds No Personal Jurisdiction Over Taiwanese Company Whose New Jersey Subsidiary Entered Into Contract With California-Based Employee

District Court Asserts Personal Jurisdiction Over Israeli Manufacturer Whose Sole U.S. Distributor is Located in Forum State

Court of Appeals Concludes That Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over Non-Party Bank of China May Exist Based on Operation of Local Branches and Other Activities

Court of Appeals Rejects, on Jurisdictional Grounds, Effort to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions to Satisfy Judgment Against Iran

District Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction Over Chinese Company That Violated Lanham Act Through Actions Taken in Florida

Court of Appeals Finds No "Tag Jurisdiction" For Corporations Whose officers Are Served In-State

District Court Finds No Personal Jurisdiction In Efforts To Enforce Patents or Under Federal Rule Providing Jurisdiction Where a Defendant Has Minimum Contacts With the U.S. as a Whole, But Not With Any Particular Jurisdiction

District Court Concludes that RICO Cannot Be Given Extraterritorial Application in Light of Claims Alleged, But That Sufficient Connection With U.S. Nonetheless Alleged

District Court Finds Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over Dutch Parent Based on Shipments of Samples to U.S. and Marketing by its U.S. Subsidiary

District Court Finds No Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over Australian Manufacturer in Product Liability Suit Despite Satisfaction of New York Jurisdictional Requirements

District Court Finds Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over Chinese Defendants Alleged To Have Orchestrated Fraud Through U.S. Corporations

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