Embassy Loses, Then Appears in Court and Wins
A solid lesson to embassies and foreign sovereigns sued in an American court is found in the January 25, 2019 decision in Dahman v. Qatar. An embassy terminated the employment of an accountant after he remained in his embassy position for many more years than his contract provided for. The employee claimed age discrimination under federal and District of Columbia law and obtained a default against the embassy and the foreign state. The defendants had not responded to the court or taken defensive action.
When the court set a hearing to determine damages, the defendants reacted, requesting that the court vacate the default, and the court has now dismissed the action. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia took note of the foreign sovereign immunity defense, the forum non conveniens defense and the arbitration clause in the employment contract. Ultimately, the validity of the arbitration clause and its forum selection as well as the public-interest factors caused the court to dismiss the action from the forum non conveniens. -- Clemens Kochinke, partner, Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP, Washington, DC.
Fri, / Embassy Law Link