Republic of Hungary v. Simon
Issues
Does expropriated property have a commercial nexus with the United States when the property is liquidated, the proceeds from liquidating that property are commingled with a foreign nation’s general assets, and those general assets are then later used commercially in the United States?
This case asks the Court to determine whether the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act is satisfied when a claimant’s assets were seized and liquidated into funds that were “commingled” with the nation’s general assets, and the nation’s general assets were then used for commercial purposes within the United States. Hungary argues that commingled assets do not satisfy the expropriation exception because there is insufficient evidence to establish that the funds from the liquidated assets were directly used in a commercial capacity in the present day. The Simon survivors counter that commingled assets do satisfy the expropriation exception and that there is sufficient evidence that the funds from their seized property were later used for commercial purposes within the United States. This case touches on important questions regarding the role of American courts in international disputes, the Holocaust’s legacy, and human rights violations.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
(1) Whether historical commingling of assets suffices to establish that proceeds of seized property have a commercial nexus with the United States under the expropriation exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; (2) whether a plaintiff must make out a valid claim that an exception to the FSIA applies at the pleading stage, rather than merely raising a plausible inference; and (3) whether a sovereign defendant bears the burden of producing evidence to affirmatively disprove that the proceeds of property taken in violation of international law have a commercial nexus with the United States under the expropriation exception to the FSIA.
Foreign sovereigns generally enjoy sovereign immunity in the United States, which prevents American courts from asserting jurisdiction over them. Simon v.
Additional Resources
- Aabshar Ghassi, US Supreme Court Grants Rehearing of Dispute over Hungary Property Confiscation of Holocaust Survivors, JURISTnews (June 25, 2024).
- William S. Dodge, The Burden of Proving Foreign Sovereign Immunity, Transnational Litigation Blog (Oct. 1, 2024).
- Sarah Biser & Craig Tractenberg, U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Holocaust Survivors’ Lawsuit Against Hungary in the United States for Expropriation of Their Property Is Permitted Under the Commercial Activities Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, JD Supra (June 25, 2024).