Chasidei Chabad v. Russian Federation
The case involves the return of alleged texts belonging to Judaica in possession of the Russian government which could end up on the black market. The U.S. Courts have ordered Russia to preserve and return the texts, but Moscow eventually withdrew from the case citing sovereign immunity. As a result of the lawsuit, the Russian Federation has cancelled loans to Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Houston Museum of Natural Science over the threat the artwork could be seized as reciprocity. In June 2011, the Justice Department filed a notice it would not support the confiscation of Russian artwork on loan as retaliation. (See: "AGUDAS CHASIDEI CHABAD OF UNITED STATES v. Russian Federation", "AGUDAS CHASIDEI CHABAD OF UNITED STATES v. Russian Federation", "U.S. to Russia: No Artwork Seizures in Chabad Case", "U.S. Justice Department may intervene in Chabad-Russia feud over texts", "US Judge Orders Russia to Preserve Chabad Texts")