Foreign Sovereign Immunity and forum non conveniens
The former business partners in Farhad Azima v. Rak Investment Authority entered into a Settlement Agreement after Azima claimed RAK owed another business partner for investments made during their joint venture. Their Agreement states that the parties agree to litigate all future, related claims in England.
In 2015-2016, RAKIA hired Azima to help negotiate a resolution of dispute between RAKIA and its former CEO Khater Massaad. After a tentative resolution fell apart, RAKIA blamed Azima and threatened him. Azima’s computer was hacked and his documents were published online. RAKIA then sued Azima when the publicized documents showed that Azima committed fraud during an earlier business deal. Azima filed a suit in the U.S. alleging that RAKIA violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 USC §1030. RAKIA moved to dismiss the suit on two grounds. First, it claimed immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 USC §§1602-11. Second, RAKIA asserted that the Settlement Agreement submits the Parties to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, thus the court must dismiss the case on forum non conveniens grounds.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on June 18, 2019 concluded that the district court erroneously placed the burden on RAKIA to show that dismissal was warranted. The Court of Appeals exercised its pendent jurisdiction to reverse the denial of RAKIA’s motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds with an opinion that explains the tensions between sovereign immunity and other jurisdictional principles. -- Marco Stewart Lopez, legal assistant, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP, Washington, DC.
Fri, / Embassy Law Link