Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign Defendants
On August 7, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision in Goce Gligorov v. Nation of Brunei addressing personal jurisdiction issues.
Gligorov, a Slovenian businessman, contracted with Bruneian government officials to investigate corruption within that government. Allegedly, after he provided evidence implicating high-level official involvement in theft, money laundering, and terrorism financing, his contractual partners reneged on the contract, and instead conspired, in conjunction with three corporate entities, to damage his reputation and business. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed his claims.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed dismissal for the lack of personal jurisdiction. It held that, in accordance with the parties’ agreement and considering Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, personal jurisdiction under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause requires reasonableness and a meaningful nexus to the United States. Both possible legal bases for obtaining personal jurisdiction over corporate defendants have to match the requirements of the Due Process Clause. Firstly, the civil RICO statute’s service of process provision does not to establish jurisdiction over the corporate defendants because jurisdiction over Brunei itself cannot be established under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Secondly, Federal Rule of Procedure 4(k)(2) does not provide jurisdiction either. The plaintiff failed to demonstrate any concrete interest in litigation in the United States nor any meaningful U.S. interest in the dispute. In addition, the burden imposed by litigation in the District of Columbia on the three foreign corporate defendants cannot be unjustified.
The court also upheld the denial of jurisdictional discovery, concluding that there was an absence of a good-faith basis for the belief that further discovery would establish a sufficient U.S. nexus. -- By Eloise Henze, law student summer intern, Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP, Washington, DC.
Tue, / Embassy Law Link