Opinion ID: 756468
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the FSIA Applies

Text: 7 Pere argues that the district court erred in applying the FSIA because it looked to Nuovo Pignone's ownership at the time the explosion occurred, rather than at the time suit was filed. When Pere sued, Nuovo Pignone was no longer a foreign state because ENI had transferred a majority of the Nuovo Pignone stock to a consortium of private companies. In support of her argument, Pere cites Straub v. A.P. Green, 38 F.3d 448 (9th Cir.1994) which looked at the defendant's identity at the time suit was filed. She acknowledges that General Electric Capital Corp. v. Grossman, 991 F.2d 1376 (8th Cir.1993) holds that whether an entity qualifies as a foreign sovereign is determined at the time the litigated event occurred. Pere contends, however, that the Straub court's reasoning is better because it is more in keeping with the FSIA's legislative history. 8 The FSIA's purpose was to promote harmonious international relations. Pullman Construction Industries, Inc. v. United States, 23 F.3d 1166, 1169 (7th Cir.1994). Pere argues that generally international relations would remain unaffected when a plaintiff sues an entity which was immune at the time of the disputed event but is now private, therefore, giving Nuovo Pignone immunity does not achieve any governmental purpose. We disagree. 9 Whether the FSIA covers an entity now private that was state owned at the time of the disputed event(s) is a first impression within this Circuit. Having studied both Straub and General Electric, we are persuaded by the Eighth Circuit's reasoning in General Electric. As the Eighth Circuit stated, the doctrine of foreign state sovereign immunity was created to effectuate general notions of comity among nations. Id. at 1381 (internal quotations and citations omitted). The foreign policy concerns underlying sovereign immunity do not necessarily disappear when a defendant loses its foreign status before suit is filed. Thus, courts are to look to the defendant's status at the time the litigated events occurred. Straub is distinguishable because it addresses different facts. In Straub, the Ninth Circuit was determining how to treat a corporation that became a foreign state for FSIA purposes after the disputed events occurred but before suit was filed. 3 Straub, 38 F.3d at 451. We, therefore, affirm the district court's finding that Nuovo Pignone is a foreign state under the FSIA.