United States Sixth Circuit

In an Ohio limited liability company's suit against Venezuela and its Ministry of Finance in the federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, for refusing payment on two promissory notes held by the plaintiff, district court's judgment denying defendant's motion to dismiss is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) plaintiff had the right to designate the United States as a place of payment of the notes and successfully satisfied its burden of production in establishing that the commercial activity exception of section 1605(a)(2) of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act applies, and Venezuela has not carried its burden of persuasion that the exception does not apply; and 2) district court's judgment on the issue of forum non conveniens is reversed and remanded because the district court's ruling was based upon the first part of the rule, and did not reach the second-step of the analysis, the private and public interests.

Appellate Information

• Argued 06/09/2010
• Decided 09/23/2010
• Published 09/23/2010

Judges

• RYAN

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jay Kelly Wright, Charles H. Cooper, Jr.