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Case Summary
Orkin v. Swiss Confederation
Orkin v. Swiss Confederation, 770 F.Supp.2d 612 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), aff’d, No. 11-1414-cv (2d Cir. 2011).
Précis
In this case, in which the plaintiff sought the return of a drawing allegedly sold under duress to a private party during the Nazi era, a New York
Federal District Court
Any general jurisdiction trial court of the United States federal court system (one or more in each state). Also known as United States District Court.
Federal District Court held that the current owner—the Swiss Confederation—was immune from suit as a foreign sovereign. The court rejected the argument that the “takings” exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”), 28 U.S.C. §1605(a)(3), allowed it to exercise
jurisdiction
The authority given by law to a court to try cases and rule on legal matters within a particular geographic area or over certain types of legal cases. It is vital to determine before a lawsuit is filed which court has jurisdiction. State courts have jurisdiction over matters within that state, and different levels of courts have jurisdiction over lawsuits involving different amounts of money (http://dictionary.law.com).
jurisdiction because the initial sale of the drawing was to a private individual, not to a foreign state. The court also rejected the claim that Switzerland had violated international law under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”), 28 U.S.C. §1330. The decision was . . . .
Associated Legal Decision(s)
Associated Statutes and/or Legislation
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