United States Ninth Circuit

In plaintiffs' appeal from the district court's order denying plaintiffs' motion to assign the rights of a French debtor of Iran to plaintiffs, on the basis that Iran's rights to payment from the debtor were immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), the order is affirmed where: 1) the court could not require a defendant to affirmatively plead foreign sovereign immunity from suit, since a court must decide immunity even if a defendant does not appear; and 2) Iran's rights to payment from the debtor did not constitute "property in the United States" under 28 U.S.C. section 1610(a).

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/03/2010
• Published 12/03/2010

Judges

• Betty Fletcher

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• David J. Cook, Peter Buscemi