Respondent Carol Sachs is a resident of California who purchased in the United States a Eurail pass for rail travel in Europe. She suffered traumatic personal injuries when she fell onto the tracks at the Innsbruck, Austria, train station while attempting to board a train operated by the Austrian state-owned railway. She sued the railway in Federal District Court, arguing that her suit was not barred by sovereign immunity because it is ‘based upon’ the railway’s sale of the pass to her in the United States.
Recognition Of A Foreign Judgment.
A trial court may recognize a foreign judgment under the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act [CCP § 1713-1724]. But, despite the legality of 20 percent interest in the foreign jurisdiction, California may not enter a California judgment imposing postjudgment interest at a rate greater than ten percent. (Hyundai Securities Co., Ltd. v. Lee (Cal. […]
No Equitable Tolling For Parents That Abduct Children.
When a parent abducts a child and flees to another country, the Hague Convention requires that country to return the child immediately if the parent requests return of the child within one year. In this case, the mother and child disappeared from the United Kingdom in 2008, and the father did not locate them in […]
Still Pursuing Art Stolen By Nazis.
Plaintiffs allege their ancestors “were a well-known Jewish family that played a prominent role in Germany’s economic and cultural life” and purchased a painting of artist Camille Pissarro in 1898. As a condition to leaving Germany in 1939, the family was required to surrender the painting to the Nazis. In 1943, the painting was sold to an […]
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) Decision Reversed By Ninth Circuit En Banc.
Last year we reported the following: No Jurisdiction. Plaintiff brought an action against an Austrian-owned railway as a result of her attempting to board a moving train in Innsbruck. She purchased a Eurail pass in California from Rail Pass Experts, a company based in Massachusetts. When attempting to board the train, she fell to the tracks through […]
Case Of Guantanamo Bay Detainee Dismissed.
Plaintiff, a citizen of Sudan, alleged he was detained in Pakistan in 2002 by Pakistani security forces acting under the direction of an unknown American official. He claimed he was transferred to United States Military custody, first at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan and then at Guantanamo Bay. In 2005, it was determined that, while he was […]
Postjudgment Orders Directing Issuance Of A Letter Rogatory Reversed.
The appellate court’s words say it all: “In this appeal from postjudgment orders directing issuance of a letter rogatory requesting registration of judgment liens against properties of the judgment debtor in Mexico and restraining the debtor from transferring its right to payment upon the sale of those properties, we must decide two issues of first impression […]