FI L ED

U.S. COURT OF APPEAL S

EL EVENTH CI RCUI T

AUGUST 19, 2009

THOMAS K. KAH

N

CL ERK [ P U B L I S H ]

I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C I R C U I T

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

N o

. 0 8

- 1 4 5 2 3

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

D

. C

. D o c k e t N o

. 0 7

- 6 1 0 7 8

- C V

- S H

J A M E S L

. B U T L E R

, J R

. ,

B A R I L

. B U T L E R

,

P l a i n t i f f s

- A p p e l l e e s

,

v e r s u s

S U K H O I C O M P A N Y

, U N I T E D A I R C R A F T M A N U F A C T U R I N G C O R P

. ,

I R K U T C O R P O R A T I O N

, S U K H O I C I V I L A I R C R A F T

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R U S S I A N F E D E R A T I O N

,

D e f e n d a n t s

- A p p e l l a n t s

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S U K H O I D E S I G N B U R E A U

,

D e f e n d a n t

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A p p e a l f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s D i s t r i c t C o u r t

f o r t h e S o u t h e r n D i s t r i c t o f F l o r i d a

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ( A u g u s t 1 9

, 2 0 0 9 )B e f

o r e D U B I N A

, C h i e f J u d g e

, B I R C H a n d W I L S O N

, C i r c u i t J u d g e s

.

B I R C H

, C i r c u i t J u d g e :

S u k h o i C o m p a n y ( “ S u k h o i ” )

, U n i t e d A i r c r a f t M a n u f a c t u r i n g C o r p o r a t i o n

( “ U A C ” )

, I r k u t C o r p o r a t i o n ( “ I r k u t ” )

, S u k h o i C i v i l A i r c r a f t ( “ S C A ” )

, a n d T h e

R u s s i a n F e d e r a t i o n ( “ R u s s i a ” ) ( c o l l e c t i v e l y

, “ a p p e l l a n t s ” ) a p p e a l t h e o r d e r o f t h e

d i s t r i c t c o u r t d e n y i n g t h e i r m o t i o n t o d i s m i s s t h e c o m p l a i n t f i l e d b y a p p e l l e e s

J a m e s B u t l e r a n d h i s w i f e

, B a r i B u t l e r ( h e r e i n a f

t e r “ t h e B u t l e r s ” )

, i n w h i c h t h e

B u t l e r s s o u g h t t o e n f

o r c e a d e f

a u l t j u d g m e n t e n t e r e d i n t h e i r f a v o r i n a p r e v i o u s

c a u s e o f a c t i o n a g a i n s t a p p e l l a n t s ’ a l l e g e d p r e d e c e s s o r

- i n

- i n t e r e s t

, S u k h o i D e s i g n

B u r e a u ( “ S D B ” )

. B e c a u s e t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t l a c k e d s u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r

t h e B u t l e r s ’ c l a i m s

, w e R E V E R S E a n d R E M A N D t o t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t w i t h

i n s t r u c t i o n s t o d i s m i s s t h e c a s e

.

I

. B A C K G R O U N D

T h e B u t l e r s f

i l e d s u i t ( h e r e i n a f

t e r “ B u t l e r I ” ) i n 2 0 0 3 i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s

D i s t r i c t C o u r t f

o r t h e S o u t h e r n D i s t r i c t o f F l o r i d a a g a i n s t S D B a n d A d v a n c e d

S u k h o i T e c h n o l o g i e s s e e k i n g d a m a g e s f o r i n j u r i e s J a m e s B u t l e r s u s t a i n e d w h e n a 1

S u k h o i S U

- 2 9 a i r c r a f

t h e w a s p i l o t i n g c r a s h e d i n B r o w a r d C o u n t y

, F l o r i d a a s a

I n its mot ion to dism iss the Butler I complaint, SDB stated tha t it was a compa ny 1

separ ate a nd independe nt from “Adva nced Sukhoi Tec hnologie s,” which, a ccor ding to SDB , was

opera ting unde r the na me “Adva nced T echnolog ies for A ircra ft Manufa cturing ” at the time of

the lawsuit.

2r e s u l t o f d e f e c t s i n t h e a i r c r a f

t

. T h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t d e n i e d S D B ’ s m o t i o n t o d i s m i s s

f o r l a c k o f p e r s o n a l j u r i s d i c t i o n a n d S D B a n s w e r e d t h e c o m p l a i n t

. S D B a d m i t t e d

t h a t i t w a s a s u b

j e c t o f t h e R u s s i a n F e d e r a t i o n a n d a s s e r t e d v a r i o u s a f f i r m a t i v e

d e f e n s e s

, i n c l u d i n g l a c k o f p e r s o n a l j u r i s d i c t i o n a n d f a i l u r e t o s t a t e a c l a i m

, b u t d i d

n o t i n v o k e i m m u n i t y u n d e r t h e F o r e i g n S o v e r e i g n I m m u n i t i e s A c t ( “ F S I A ” )

, 2 8

U

. S

. C

. § 1 6 0 2

, e t s e q

. A f t e r S D B f

a i l e d t o r e s p o n d t o d i s c o v e r y o r t o c o m p l y w i t h

t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s o r d e r c o m p e l l i n g d i s c o v e r y

, t h e B u t l e r s f i l e d a m o t i o n f

o r

d e f a u l t j u d g m e n t

, w h i c h t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t g r a n t e d

. F o l l o w i n g a j u r y t r i a l o n

d a m a g e s

, t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t e n t e r e d a n a m e n d e d f i n a l j u d g m e n t

, i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h

t h e j u r y ’ s v e r d i c t

, o r d e r i n g S D B t o p a y d a m a g e s t o t h e B u t l e r s i n t h e a m o u n t o f

$ 3

, 5 9 2

, 5 0 0 p l u s p o s t

-

j u d g m e n t i n t e r e s t

.

O n 2 A u g u s t 2 0 0 7

, t h e B u t l e r s f i l e d t h e i n s t a n t a c t i o n ( h e r e i n a f t e r “ B u t l e r

I I ” ) a g a i n s t S D B

, n a m i n g a s a d d i t i o n a l d e f e n d a n t s S u k h o i

, U A C

, I r k u t

, S C A

, a n d

R u s s i a

. I n t h e i r c o m p l a i n t

, t h e B u t l e r s a l l e g e d t h a t a p p e l l a n t s w e r e a f o r e i g n s t a t e 2

a n d / o r i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s o r a g e n c i e s o f a f o r e i g n s t a t e n o t e n t i t l e d t o i m m u n i t y

u n d e r t h e F S I A a n d s o u g h t a d e c l a r a t i o n t h a t a p p e l l a n t s

– n o n e o f w h o m w e r e

p a r t i e s i n B u t l e r I

– w e r e j o i n t l y a n d s e v e r a l l y l i a b l e f o r t h e B u t l e r I j u d g m e n t a s

Thoug h named a s a def

endant, SDB has not appe are d in Butler I I

. 2

3s u c c e s s o r s i n i n t e r e s t t o a n d / o r a l t e r

- e g o s o f S D B

. A p p e l l a n t s f i l e d a m o t i o n t o 3

d i s m i s s

, a s s e r t i n g i m m u n i t y f r o m l i a b i l i t y a n d e x e c u t i o n u n d e r t h e F S I A

. T h e y

a r g u e d t h a t t h e c o m p l a i n t ’ s a l l e g a t i o n s w e r e i n s u f f i c i e n t a s a m a t t e r o f l a w t o

e s t a b l i s h t h e c o u r t ’ s s u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n u n d e r t h e F S I A

. 4

T h e B u t l e r s r e s p o n d e d t h a t S D B w a i v e d i m m u n i t y f r o m s u i t b y f

a i l i n g t o

i n v o k e t h e p r o t e c t i o n s o f t h e F S I A i n B u t l e r I

. T h e y a r g u e d a d d i t i o n a l l y t h a t t h e y

w e r e m e r e l y s e e k i n g t o e x e c u t e a j u d g m e n t e n t e r e d a g a i n s t S D B a n d t h a t R u l e 6 9

o f t h e F e d e r a l R u l e s o f C i v i l P r o c e d u r e a l l o w s f o r e n f o r c e m e n t o f s u c h j u d g m e n t s

Specifica lly , the complaint alleg ed that: (1) Sukhoi is a Russian corpor ation wholly 3

owned by Russia, an ag ency

and instrumentality

of Russia, and Russia’s alter -eg o; (2) SDB is a

Russian corpora tion owned 50% + 1 share by Sukhoi C ompany

and is the alter -eg o of Russia

and Sukhoi Company ; (3) I rkut is a Russian corpor ation owned in par t by Sukhoi; (4) SC A is a

Russian company

owned 86.84% by

Sukhoi; (5) UAC is a Russian corpora tion that was

org anized and incor

porate d by

a dec ree of Russian president Vla dimir Put in “to maintain the

scientific- industrial potential of Russia’s airc raf t manufac turing complex, and to ensure the

country ’s sec urity

and def ense c apabilities,” a

nd is controlled by

Russia; (6) all other c orpora te

defe ndants merg ed into UAC as the suc cessor in interest to Sukhoi C ompany , SDB, I rkut, and

SCA; and (7) UAC and Russia a re a lter-e g os of one a

nother. R1-1 a

t 2-4 (interna l quotation

marks omitted).

Appellants conte nded additionally that the complaint was due to be dismissed beca use: 4

(1) the B utler I

judgme nt was ente red by defa ult and in acc ordanc e with a jury verdic t and thus

unenfor cea

ble under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1608(e) a

nd 1330(a) , respe ctively ; (2) the c omplaint actually

alleg ed a ba sis for absolute immunity under 28 U .S.C. § 1611(b)(2) by stating tha

t appellants’

bank ac counts wer e used to fa cilitate interna tional civil and milit ary airc raf t transac tions; (3) the

court lac ked per sonal jurisdiction due to improper ser vice of proce ss under the F SI A and, e ven if

the FSI A wer e inapplica

ble, the cour

t lacked pe rsonal jurisdiction under F lorida’s longarm

statute; (4) ve nue wa s improper unde r the F SI A bec ause the complaint’s sole cla im was that

appellants we re a lter-e g os of one a nother a nd thus any

acts or omissions upon which the c laim

was ba sed could only

have oc curr ed, if a

t all, in Russ ia; and (5) the complaint fa iled to state a

claim under

Rule 12(b)(6)

. Finally , appellants a sserted tha t summary judgme nt was appr opriate

beca use the c omplaint asserted only a conc lusory

alter- eg o claim and thus fa iled to raise g enuine

issues of mater ial fac t for discove ry or trial.

4i n f

e d e r a l c o u r t s

. T h e y c o n t e n d e d t h a t t h e y w e r e e n t i t l e d t o l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n a l

d i s c o v e r y a s t o t h e a l t e r

- e g o b a s i s f o r s u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n a n d t o d i s c o v e r y

i n a i d o f e x e c u t i o n a s t o t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e j u d g m e n t d e b t o r s ’ a s s e t s

. T h e B u t l e r s

d i d n o t

, h o w e v e r

, i d e n t i f y a n y s p e c i f

i c u n d i s c o v e r e d f

a c t s t h a t w e r e n e c e s s a r y t o

m a k e a n i m m u n i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n

.

T h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t d e n i e d a p p e l l a n t s ’ m o t i o n o n 2 9 J u l y 2 0 0 8

, f i n d i n g t h a t i t

w o u l d b e “ p r e m a t u r e ” t o d i s m i s s t h e c o m p l a i n t b e c a u s e t h e B u t l e r s w e r e e n t i t l e d t o

d i s c o v e r y o n t h e “

j u r i s d i c t i o n a l i s s u e s ” r a i s e d b y a p p e l l a n t s

. R 1

- 4 1

. T h i s a p p e a l

f o l l o w e d

.

I I

. D I S C U S S I O N

W e h a v e j u r i s d i c t i o n u n d e r 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 2 9 1 o n l y o v e r a p p e a l s f r o m “ f i n a l

d e c i s i o n s ” o f t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t s

. W

. R

. H u f f A s s e t M g m t C o

. v

. K o h l b e r g

, K r a v i s

,

R o b e r t s & C o

. , 5 6 6 F

. 3 d 9 7 9

, 9 8 4 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 9 ) ( q u o t a t i o n m a r k s a n d c i t a t i o n

o m i t t e d )

. “ [ A ] d i s t r i c t c o u r t o r d e r i s c o n s i d e r e d f i n a l a n d a p p e a l a b l e o n l y i f i t e n d s

t h e l i t i g a t i o n o n t h e m e r i t s a n d l e a v e s n o t h i n g f o r t h e c o u r t t o d o b u t e x e c u t e t h e

j u d g m e n t

. ” I d

. B e c a u s e t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s o r d e r d e n y i n g a p p e l l a n t s ’ m o t i o n t o

d i s m i s s d i d n o t e n d t h e l i t i g a t i o n o n t h e m e r i t s

, w e m u s t

, a s a n i n i t i a l m a t t e r

,

d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r w e h a v e j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r t h i s a p p e a l

.

I t i s w e l l

- s e t t l e d t h a t a c o u r t o f a p p e a l s h a s j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r i n t e r l o c u t o r y

5o r d e r s d e n y i n g c l a i m s o f i m m u n i t y u n d e r t h e F S I A

. S e e O ’ B r y a n v

. H o l y S e e

, 5 5 6

F

. 3 d 3 6 1

, 3 7 2 ( 6 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 9 ) ( n o t i n g t h a t b e c a u s e s o v e r e i g n i m m u n i t y i s i m m u n i t y

f r o m t r i a l

, n o t m e r e l y a d e f e n s e t o l i a b i l i t y

, t h e d e n i a l o f a c l a i m o f s o v e r e i g n

i m m u n i t y i s i m m e d i a t e l y a p p e a l a b l e a s a f i n a l d e c i s i o n u n d e r 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 2 9 1 ) ;

S & D a v i s I n t ’ l

, I n c

. v

. R e p u b l i c o f Y e m e n

, 2 1 8 F

. 3 d 1 2 9 2

, 1 2 9 5

, 1 2 9 7 ( 1 1 t h C i r

.

2 0 0 0 )

. I n a s m u c h a s t h e o r d e r o n a p p e a l r e q u i r e d a p p e l l a n t s t o a n s w e r t h e

c o m p l a i n t a n d c a l l e d f

o r d i s c o v e r y

, i t d e n i e d t h e m i m m u n i t y f r o m s u i t u n d e r t h e

F S I A

. S e e M c M a h o n v

. P r e s i d e n t i a l A i r w a y s

, I n c

. , 5 0 2 F

. 3 d 1 3 3 1

, 1 3 3 9 ( 1 1 t h C i r

.

2 0 0 7 ) ( n o t i n g t h a t “ i m m u n i t y f r o m s u i t e n t a i l s a r i g h t t o b e f r e e f r o m t h e b u r d e n s

o f l i t i g a t i o n ” ) ; K e l l y v

. S y r i a S h e l l P e t r o l e u m D e v

. B

. V

. , 2 1 3 F

. 3 d 8 4 1

, 8 4 9 ( 5 t h

C i r

. 2 0 0 0 ) ( “ F S I A i m m u n i t y i s i m m u n i t y n o t o n l y f r o m l i a b i l i t y

, b u t a l s o f

r o m t h e

c o s t s

, i n t i m e a n d e x p e n s e

, a n d o t h e r d i s r u p t i o n s a t t e n d a n t t o l i t i g a t i o n

. ” )

.

A c c o r d i n g l y

, w e h a v e j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r a p p e l l a n t s ’ a s s e r t i o n o f i m m u n i t y u n d e r t h e

F S I A

, n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e l a c k o f a f i n a l j u d g m e n t i n t h i s c a s e

. W e n o w t u r n t o

t h e m e r i t s

.

A p p e l l a n t s a r g u e t h a t t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t e r r e d i n d e n y i n g t h e i r m o t i o n t o

d i s m i s s a n d a b u s e d i t s d i s c r e t i o n i n o r d e r i n g j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y b e c a u s e t h e

B u t l e r s ’ c o m p l a i n t f

a i l e d t o a l l e g e a b a s i s f

o r s u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n

. T h e

B u t l e r s

, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d

, c o n t e n d t h a t t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t c o r r e c t l y d e n i e d t h e

6m o t i o n b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e e n t i t l e d t o l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y i n o r d e r t o

f u r t h e r d e f

i n e a p p e l l a n t s ’ a l t e r

- e g o r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h S D B

. W e c o n c l u d e t h a t

, e v e n

a c c e p t i n g a s t r u e t h e B u t l e r s ’ a l l e g a t i o n s t h a t a p p e l l a n t s a r e a l t e r

- e g o s o f o n e

a n o t h e r a n d o f S D B

, t h e y a r e i n s u f f i c i e n t a s a m a t t e r o f l a w t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h e

e x i s t e n c e o f s u b

j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n

.

T h e F S I A p r o v i d e s “ t h e s o l e b a s i s f o r o b t a i n i n g j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r a f o r e i g n

s t a t e i n [ U n i t e d S t a t e s ] c o u r t s

. ” A r g e n t i n e R e p u b l i c v

. A m e r a d a H e s s S h i p p i n g

C o r p

. , 4 8 8 U

. S

. 4 2 8

, 4 3 4

, 1 0 9 S

. C t

. 6 8 3

, 6 8 8 ( 1 9 8 9 ) ; s e e a l s o V e r m e u l e n v

.

R e n a u l t

, U

. S

. A

. , I n c

. , 9 8 5 F

. 2 d 1 5 3 4

, 1 5 4 3 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 3 ) ( n o t i n g t h a t F S I A i s

“ [ t ] h e o n l y p o s s i b l e s o u r c e o f f e d e r a l j u r i s d i c t i o n i n s u i t s a g a i n s t c o r p o r a t i o n s

o w n e d b y f

o r e i g n s t a t e s ” )

. U n d e r t h e F S I A

, f o r e i g n s t a t e s a n d t h e i r a g e n c i e s

a n d / o r i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s a r e i m m u n e f r o m s u i t i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s u n l e s s a n F S I A 5

s t a t u t o r y e x c e p t i o n a p p l i e s

. S e e 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § § 1 6 0 3

, 1 6 0 4

, 1 6 0 5 ; A q u a m a r

, S

. A

. v

. 6

A “f oreig n state” unde r the F SI A includes a n “ag ency or instrumentality

of a f oreig n 5

state,” de fined a s “a se para te leg al per son, corpor ate or otherwise, . . . a

majority of whose sha

res

or other ow nership intere st is owned by a for eig n state or political subdivision thereof.” 28

U.S.C. § 1603(a), (b) ; see S & Davis I nt’l, 218 F.3d a t 1300. Accor dingly , any such ag ency

or

instrumentality

of a f oreig n state also enjoy s immuni ty from suit and execution under the FSI A.

See Aleja ndre v. Te lefonica

L arg a Distanc ia de Puer

to Rico, I nc., 183 F .3d 1277, 1283 (11th Cir.

1999). Appe llants conce ded for purposes of the ir motion to di smiss and on appea l that they are

instrumentalities of Russia.

The F SI A does not immuniz e for eig n states from suit ca ses in which: (1) “ the fore ign 6

state has wa ived its imm unity either e x plicitly

or by implication”; (2) “the action is based upon a

commerc ial activity

car ried on in the United States by the fore ign sta te”; (3) “rig hts in property

taken in violation of interna tional law ar e in issue and that pr operty or any proper ty exchang ed

for suc h proper

ty is present in the United States in conne ction with a commer cial ac tivity car ried

7D e l M o n t e F r e s h P r o d u c e N

. A

. , I n c

. , 1 7 9 F

. 3 d 1 2 7 9

, 1 2 9 0 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 9 )

. I f

n o n e o f t h e e x c e p t i o n s a p p l i e s

, t h e n t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t l a c k s s u b j e c t m a t t e r

j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r t h e p l a i n t i f f ’ s c l a i m s

. M w a n i v

. B i n L a d e n

, 4 1 7 F

. 3 d 1

, 1 5 ( D

. C

.

C i r

. 2 0 0 5 ) ( c i t i n g 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 6 0 4 )

. C o n v e r s e l y

, “ [ i ] f a n e x c e p t i o n d o e s a p p l y

,

t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t h a s j u r i s d i c t i o n

. ” I d

. ( c i t i n g 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 3 3 0 ( a ) )

. T h u s

, i n o r d e r 7

t o e s t a b l i s h s u b

j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n u n d e r t h e F S I A

, t h e p l a i n t i f f m u s t o v e r c o m e

t h e p r e s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e f o r e i g n s t a t e i s i m m u n e f r o m s u i t b y p r o d u c i n g e v i d e n c e

t h a t “ t h e c o n d u c t w h i c h f o r m s t h e b a s i s o f [ t h e ] c o m p l a i n t f a l l s w i t h i n o n e o f t h e

s t a t u t o r i l y d e f

i n e d e x c e p t i o n s

. ” S & D a v i s I n t ’ l

, 2 1 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 0 0 ; s e e a l s o I n r e

on in the United States by the fore ign sta

te;” (4) “rig hts in property in the United States ac quired

by succe ssion or g ift or rig hts in im movable prope rty situated in the United States ar e in issue”;

(5) “ money

damag es ar e soug ht ag ainst a for eig n state for persona l injury

or dea th, or damag e to

or loss of prope rty , occur

ring in the United States and c aused by the tortious act or omission of

that fore ign sta te”; (6) “the a ction is broug ht, either to enf orce an ag ree ment made by the fore ign

state with or for

the bene fit of a pr ivate par ty to submit to arbitration all or a ny differ ence s which

have a risen or w hich may

arise be tween the parties with re spect to a de fined leg al

rela tionship . . . concerning a subjec t matter ca pable of settlement by

arbitra tion under the law s

of the United States, or

to confirm an a

war d made pur suant to such an a g ree ment to arbitrate ”;

(7) “ a suit in admiralty

is broug ht to enforc e a ma ritime lien ag ainst a vesse l or ca rg o of the

fore ign sta te, which mar itime lien is based upon a commer cial ac tivity of the for eig n state”; (8)

an ac tion is brought to fore close a pref err ed mortg ag e. 28 U.S.C. § 1605; see also 28 U.S.C.

§ 1605A (a ddressing terror ist ex ception to jurisdictional immunit y ); § 1607 (addr essing

counter claims ag ainst fore ign sta tes that bring actions in the United States cour ts); §§ 1610-11

(setting forth exceptions to immuni ty from attac hment or execution).

Section 1330(a) provides: “The district courts shall have orig inal jurisdiction without 7

reg ard to a mount in controversy of any nonjury civil action ag ainst a for eig n state as de fined in

section 1603(a ) of this title as to any claim for r elief in pe rsonam with re spect to which the

fore ign sta te is not entitled to im munity either unde r sec tions 1605-1607 of this tit le or unde r any

applicable international a g ree ment.” 28 U.S.C. § 1330(a)

.

8T e r r o r i s t A t t a c k s o n S e p t e m b e r 1 1

, 2 0 0 1

, 5 3 8 F

. 3 d 7 1

, 8 0 ( 2 d C i r

. 2 0 0 8 ) ( p l a i n t i f f

h a s b u r d e n o f p r o d u c i n g e v i d e n c e s h o w i n g t h a t

, u n d e r e x c e p t i o n s t o t h e F S I A

,

i m m u n i t y s h o u l d n o t b e g r a n t e d )

. W h e t h e r t h e p l a i n t i f f h a s s a t i s f

i e d h i s b u r d e n o f

p r o d u c t i o n i n t h i s r e g a r d i s d e t e r m i n e d b y l o o k i n g a t “ t h e a l l e g a t i o n s i n t h e

c o m p l a i n t [ a n d ] t h e u n d i s p u t e d f a c t s

, i f a n y

, p l a c e d b e f

o r e t h e c o u r t b y t h e p a r t i e s

. ”

I n r e T e r r o r i s t A t t a c k s

, 5 3 8 F

. 3 d a t 8 0 ( q u o t a t i o n m a r k s

, a l t e r a t i o n s

, a n d c i t a t i o n

o m i t t e d )

. O n c e t h e p l a i n t i f f d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t o n e o f t h e s t a t u t o r y e x c e p t i o n s t o

F S I A i m m u n i t y a p p l i e s

, t h e b u r d e n t h e n s h i f t s t o t h e d e f

e n d a n t t o p r o v e

, b y a

p r e p o n d e r a n c e o f t h e e v i d e n c e

, t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f ’ s c l a i m s d o n o t f

a l l w i t h i n t h a t

e x c e p t i o n

. S e e S & D a v i s I n t ’ l

, 2 1 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 0 0 ; A q u a m a r

, 1 7 9 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 9 0 ;

A r a n g o v

. G u z m a n T r a v e l A d v i s o r s C o r p

. , 6 2 1 F

. 2 d 1 3 7 1

, 1 3 7 8 ( 5 t h C i r

. U n i t B

1 9 8 0 )

.

B e c a u s e t h e B u t l e r s s o u g h t t o i n v o k e t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s

c o u r t s t o e n t e r a n e w j u d g m e n t i n a s e p a r a t e c a u s e o f a c t i o n a g a i n s t a p p e l l a n t s

,

t h e y b o r e t h e b u r d e n o f p r e s e n t i n g a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e t h a t j u r i s d i c t i o n e x i s t e d

. S e e 8

S & D a v i s I n t ’ l

, 2 1 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 0 0

. W h e r e

, a s h e r e

, t h e p a r t y a s s e r t i n g i m m u n i t y

u n d e r t h e F S I A d o e s n o t c o n t e s t t h e a l l e g e d j u r i s d i c t i o n a l f a c t s

, b u t r a t h e r

,

Although a

defe ndant cha lleng ing subje ct matter jurisdiction under the FSIA has the 8

initial burden of pre senting a prima f acie case that it is a foreig n state, see I n re Te rror ist Attacks,

538 F.3d a t 80, the appellants’ sta tus as “for eig n states” unde r the F SI A was unc ontested in this

case

.

9c h a l l e n g e s t h e i r l e g a l a d e q u a c y

, w e r e v i e w d e n o v o t h e c o m p l a i n t ’ s j u r i s d i c t i o n a l

a l l e g a t i o n s t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e y w e r e s u f f i c i e n t t o e l i m i n a t e t h e a p p e l l a n t s ’

p r e s u m p t i v e i m m u n i t y

. S e e M w a n i

, 4 1 7 F

. 3 d a t 1 5

- 1 6 ( w h e r e f o r e i g n s o v e r e i g n

d i d n o t e x p r e s s l y c o n c e d e p l a i n t i f f s ’ f a c t u a l a l l e g a t i o n s b u t a r g u e d t h a t t h e

a l l e g a t i o n s

, e v e n i f s u b s t a n t i a t e d

, w e r e i n s u f f i c i e n t t o t r i g g e r F S I A e x c e p t i o n

,

s o v e r e i g n ’ s a r g u m e n t w a s a c h a l l e n g e t o t h e l e g a l s u f f i c i e n c y o f t h e a l l e g a t i o n s

s u b j e c t t o d e n o v o r e v i e w ) ; s e e a l s o C h u d a s a m a v

. M a z d a M o t o r C o r p

. , 1 2 3 F

. 3 d

1 3 5 3

, 1 3 6 7 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 7 ) ( n o t i n g t h a t a f a c i a l c h a l l e n g e t o t h e l e g a l s u f f i c i e n c y

o f a c l a i m o r d e f

e n s e

, u n l i k e a d e n i a l o f t h e c o m p l a i n t ’ s f a c t u a l a l l e g a t i o n s

,

“ a l w a y s p r e s e n t s a p u r e l y l e g a l q u e s t i o n ” )

.

T h e c o m p l a i n t i n t h i s c a s e p l e a d s t h e F S I A a s t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s b a s i s f o r

s u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n

, b u t f a i l s t o s p e c i f

i c a l l y i n v o k e a n y o f t h e F S I A ’ s

s t a t u t o r y e x c e p t i o n s

. T h e o n l y “ c o n d u c t ” a l l e g e d i n t h e c o m p l a i n t i s t h a t

a p p e l l a n t s a n d S D B a r e a l t e r

- e g o s

. W e a g r e e w i t h a p p e l l a n t s t h a t t h i s c o n d u c t i s

i n s u f f i c i e n t t o d i v e s t a p p e l l a n t s o f t h e i r s o v e r e i g n i m m u n i t y b e c a u s e

, e v e n i f

s u b s t a n t i a t e d t h r o u g h d i s c o v e r y

, i t d o e s n o t b r i n g t h e c l a i m w i t h i n o n e o f o n e t h e

s t a t u t o r i l y

- e n u m e r a t e d e x c e p t i o n s e i t h e r t o p r e

- j u d g m e n t o r p o s t

-

j u d g m e n t

i m m u n i t y u n d e r t h e F S I A

. S e e M w a n i

, 4 1 7 F

. 3 d a t 1 7

. M o r e o v e r

, a l t h o u g h t h e

c o m p l a i n t m a k e s t h e b a l d a s s e r t i o n t h a t j u r i s d i c t i o n e x i s t s u n d e r § 1 6 0 5 b e c a u s e

10t h e a c t i o n “ i n v o l v e s a f o r e i g n s t a t e a n d i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s o r a g e n c i e s o f a f o r e i g n

s t a t e n o t e n t i t l e d t o i m m u n i t y u n d e r 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § § 1 6 0 3

, e t s e q

. o f t h e [ F S I A ] a n d

u n d e r F R C P 6 9 ( a ) t o e n f o r c e i t s o w n j u d g m e n t s

, ” t h i s i s a l e g a l c o n c l u s i o n t h a t w e

n e e d n o t a c c e p t a s t r u e

. R 1

- 1 a t 4 ; s e e O ’ B r y a n

, 5 5 6 F

. 3 d a t 3 7 6 ( w h e r e d e f e n d a n t

a s s e r t s a f

a c i a l a t t a c k o n t h e s u b

j e c t

- m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n a l l e g e d i n t h e c o m p l a i n t

,

“ c o n c l u s o r y a l l e g a t i o n s o r l e g a l c o n c l u s i o n s m a s q u e r a d i n g a s f a c t u a l c o n c l u s i o n s

w i l l n o t s u f

f i c e t o p r e v e n t a m o t i o n t o d i s m i s s ” ( q u o t a t i o n m a r k s a n d c i t a t i o n

o m i t t e d ) ) ; S & D a v i s I n t ’ l

, 2 1 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 9 8

. I n a s m u c h a s t h e c o m p l a i n t w a s

i n s u f f i c i e n t a s a m a t t e r o f l a w t o e s t a b l i s h a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e t h a t t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t

h a d j u r i s d i c t i o n

, t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t a b u s e d i t s d i s c r e t i o n i n a l l o w i n g t h e c a s e t o

p r o c e e d a n d g r a n t i n g d i s c o v e r y o n t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n a l i s s u e

. S e e U n i t e d T e c h s

.

C o r p

. v

. M a z e r

, 5 5 6 F

. 3 d 1 2 6 0

, 1 2 8 0

- 8 1 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 9 ) ( r e v i e w i n g d i s t r i c t

c o u r t ’ s d e c i s i o n t o a l l o w j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y f o r a n a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n ) ; s e e

,

e

. g

. , I n r e T e r r o r i s t A t t a c k s

, 5 3 8 F

. 3 d a t 9 6 ( f i n d i n g n o e r r o r i n d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s

d e n i a l o f j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y a g a i n s t f o r e i g n s t a t e w h e r e p l a i n t i f f s f a i l e d t o

e s t a b l i s h a p r i m a f

a c i e c a s e t h a t t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t h a d j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r d e f e n d a n t s ) ;

M w a n i

, 4 1 7 F

. 3 d a t 1 7 ( f i n d i n g n o e r r o r i n d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s d e n i a l o f j u r i s d i c t i o n a l

d i s c o v e r y w h e r e

, e v e n a s s u m i n g d e f e n d a n t / s o v e r e i g n e n g a g e d i n c o n d u c t a l l e g e d

i n t h e c o m p l a i n t

, c o m m e r c i a l a c t i v i t y e x c e p t i o n t o F S I A w o u l d n o t a p p l y a s a

11m a t t e r o f l a w )

.

F u r t h e r

, w e n o t e t h a t t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f c o m i t y u n d e r l y i n g t h e F S I A r e q u i r e

t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t

, w h e n d e c i d i n g w h e t h e r o r n o t t o a l l o w j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y

f r o m a f o r e i g n s o v e r e i g n

, t o b a l a n c e t h e n e e d f o r “ d i s c o v e r y t o s u b s t a n t i a t e

e x c e p t i o n s t o s t a t u t o r y f o r e i g n s o v e r e i g n i m m u n i t y ” a g a i n s t t h e n e e d t o “ p r o t e c t [ ]

a s o v e r e i g n ’ s o r s o v e r e i g n a g e n c y ’ s l e g i t i m a t e c l a i m t o i m m u n i t y f r o m d i s c o v e r y

. ”

F i r s t C i t y

, T e x a s

- H o u s t o n

, N

. A

. v

. R a f i d a i n B a n k

, 1 5 0 F

. 3 d 1 7 2

, 1 7 6 ( 2 d C i r

.

1 9 9 8 ) ( q u o t a t i o n m a r k s a n d c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. S u c h a n a n a l y s i s s e r v e s t o e n s u r e

t h a t j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y i s “ o r d e r e d c i r c u m s p e c t l y a n d o n l y t o v e r i f y

a l l e g a t i o n s o f s p e c i f

i c f a c t s c r u c i a l t o a n i m m u n i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n

. ” I d

. ( q u o t a t i o n

m a r k s a n d c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d ) ; I n r e P a p a n d r e o u

, 1 3 9 F

. 3 d 2 4 7

, 2 5 3 ( D

. C

. C i r

. 1 9 9 8 )

( “ [ A ] d i s t r i c t c o u r t a u t h o r i z i n g d i s c o v e r y t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r i m m u n i t y b a r s

j u r i s d i c t i o n m u s t p r o c e e d w i t h c i r c u m s p e c t i o n

, l e s t t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e i m m u n i t y

i t s e l f e n c r o a c h u n d u l y o n t h e b e n e f i t s t h e i m m u n i t y w a s t o e n s u r e

. ” ) ; F e d e r a l I n s

.

C o

. v

. R i c h a r d I

. R u b i n & C o

. , I n c

. , 1 2 F

. 3 d 1 2 7 0

, 1 2 8 4 n

. 1 1 ( 3 d C i r

. 1 9 9 3 )

( “ [ D ] i s c o v e r y a n d f

a c t

- f i n d i n g s h o u l d b e l i m i t e d t o t h e e s s e n t i a l s n e c e s s a r y t o

d e t e r m i n i n g t h e p r e l i m i n a r y q u e s t i o n o f j u r i s d i c t i o n

. ” ( q u o t a t i o n m a r k s a n d

c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d ) )

.

A s p r e v i o u s l y n o t e d

, t h e c o m p l a i n t i n t h i s c a s e f a i l s t o a l l e g e a n F S I A

12s t a t u t o r y e x c e p t i o n t o s o v e r e i g n i m m u n i t y t h a t c o u l d b e s u b j e c t e d t o v e r i f

i c a t i o n

t h r o u g h d i s c o v e r y

. T h e B u t l e r s s i m p l y a s s e r t t h a t t h e y a r e e n t i t l e d t o f u r t h e r

d i s c o v e r y r e g a r d i n g a p p e l l a n t s ’ a n d S D B ’ s a l t e r

- e g o s t a t u s

. G i v e n t h a t a p p e l l a n t s

c o n c e d e d f

o r p u r p o s e s o f t h e i r m o t i o n t o d i s m i s s t h a t t h e y w e r e a l t e r

- e g o s o f S D B

,

w e a r e u n a b l e t o s e e w h a t s p e c i f i c f a c t s a d d i t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y m i g h t r e v e a l t h a t

w o u l d b e c r u c i a l t o t h e c o u r t ’ s i m m u n i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n

. S e e G o o d m a n H o l d i n g s v

.

R a f i d a i n B a n k

, 2 6 F

. 3 d 1 1 4 3

, 1 1 4 7 ( D

. C

. C i r

. 1 9 9 4 ) ( a f f i r m i n g d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s

d i s m i s s a l f

o r l a c k o f j u r i s d i c t i o n i n F S I A c a s e w h e r e a d d i t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y w a s

u n l i k e l y t o p r o d u c e f

a c t s a f f e c t i n g c o u r t ’ s j u r i s d i c t i o n a l a n a l y s i s ) ; s e e a l s o A m e r i c a

W e s t A i r l i n e s

, I n c

. v

. G P A G r o u p

, L t d

. , 8 7 7 F

. 2 d 7 9 3

, 8 0 1 ( 9 t h C i r

. 1 9 8 9 ) ( w h e r e

d i s c o v e r y s o u g h t w a s u n l i k e l y t o s u b s t a n t i a t e p l a i n t i f f ’ s a s s e r t i o n o f j u r i s d i c t i o n

,

d i s t r i c t c o u r t d i d n o t a b u s e i t s d i s c r e t i o n i n d e c i d i n g t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n a l i s s u e w i t h o u t

a l l o w i n g a d d i t i o n a l t i m e f o r d i s c o v e r y ) ; W e l l s F a r g o & C o

. v

. W e l l s F a r g o E x p r e s s

C o

. , 5 5 6 F

. 2 d 4 0 6

, 4 3 0 n

. 2 4 ( 9 t h C i r

. 1 9 7 7 ) ( n o t i n g t h a t a d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s r e f u s a l t o

a l l o w d i s c o v e r y t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r s u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n e x i s t s “ i s n o t a n

a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n w h e n i t i s c l e a r t h a t f u r t h e r d i s c o v e r y w o u l d n o t d e m o n s t r a t e

f a c t s s u f f i c i e n t t o c o n s t i t u t e a b a s i s f o r j u r i s d i c t i o n ” )

. B e c a u s e t h e c o m p l a i n t ’ s

a l t e r

- e g o a l l e g a t i o n s

, i f p r o v e n t h r o u g h a d d i t i o n a l d i s c o v e r y

, w o u l d n o t

d e m o n s t r a t e a b a s i s f

o r j u r i s d i c t i o n i n a n y e v e n t

, w e h a v e l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y

13c o n c l u d i n g t h a t t h e n e e d t o p r o t e c t a p p e l l a n t s ’ c l a i m t o i m m u n i t y f r o m d i s c o v e r y

g r e a t l y o u t w e i g h e d a n y c o m p e t i n g n e e d f o r f u r t h e r d i s c o v e r y

. S e e F i r s t C i t y

, 1 5 0

F

. 3 d a t 1 7 6 ; K a y l o r v

. F i e l d s

, 6 6 1 F

. 2 d 1 1 7 7

, 1 1 8 4 ( 8 t h C i r

. 1 9 8 1 ) ( n o t i n g t h a t t h e

p u r p o s e o f d i s c o v e r y i s n o t “ t o e n a b l e a p l a i n t i f f t o m a k e a c a s e w h e n h i s

c o m p l a i n t h a s f

a i l e d t o s t a t e a c l a i m ” )

. I n s u m

, r e q u i r i n g R u s s i a a n d i t s

i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s t o e n g a g e i n t h e b u r d e n s a n d c o s t s o f r e s p o n d i n g t o d i s c o v e r y

,

e s p e c i a l l y w h e n t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n a l q u e s t i o n i n t h i s c a s e m a y b e r e s o l v e d s i m p l y b y

r e f e r e n c e t o t h e u n d i s p u t e d a l l e g a t i o n s i n t h e c o m p l a i n t

, w o u l d “ f r u s t r a t e t h e

s i g n i f i c a n c e a n d b e n e f

i t o f e n t i t l e m e n t t o i m m u n i t y f r o m s u i t ” u n d e r t h e F S I A

.

B e l h a s v

. Y a ’ a l o n

, 5 1 5 F

. 3 d 1 2 7 9

, 1 2 9 0 ( D

. C

. C i r

. 2 0 0 8 ) ( q u o t a t i o n m a r k s a n d

c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

.

I I I

. C O N C L U S I O N

A p p e l l a n t s a p p e a l t h e o r d e r o f t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t d e n y i n g t h e i r m o t i o n t o

d i s m i s s a n d o r d e r i n g t h e m t o a n s w e r t h e B u t l e r s ’ c o m p l a i n t

. B e c a u s e t h e

c o m p l a i n t f

a i l e d t o a l l e g e a n y f

a c t s t h a t

, i f v e r i f

i e d

, w o u l d d e m o n s t r a t e t h e

a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f a s t a t u t o r i l y

- e n u m e r a t e d e x c e p t i o n t o f o r e i g n s o v e r e i g n i m m u n i t y

u n d e r t h e F S I A

, i t w a s p l a i n l y i n s u f f i c i e n t t o e s t a b l i s h s u b

j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n

.

A c c o r d i n g l y

, w e R E V E R S E t h e o r d e r o f t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t a n d R E M A N D t o t h e

d i s t r i c t c o u r t w i t h i n s t r u c t i o n s t o d i s m i s s t h e c a s e

.

14R E V E R S E D a n d R E M A N D E D

.

15