Opinion ID: 696239
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Courts' Interpretations of the Statute

Text: 36 To date, the district court in Gregorian is the only court to rule that foreign states and their agents are immune from claims for torts listed in section 1605(a)(5)(B) when those claims arise from the foreign actor's commercial activities. Gregorian v. Izvestia, 658 F.Supp. 1224, 1234-35 (C.D.Cal.1987), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 871 F.2d 1515 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 891, 110 S.Ct. 237, 107 L.Ed.2d 188 (1989). Neither the Supreme Court nor any circuit court has explicitly decided whether the exceptions listed in section 1605(a)(5)(B) restrict the commercial activity exceptions of section 1605(a)(2). But see Letelier v. Republic of Chile, 748 F.2d 790, 795 (2d Cir.1984) (construing statutory language of two clauses and finding that [t]his language suggests that the commercial activity exception to jurisdictional immunity under (2) and the tort exception under (5) are mutually exclusive), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1125, 105 S.Ct. 2656, 86 L.Ed.2d 273 (1985); Gilson v. Republic of Ireland, 682 F.2d 1022, 1028 n. 27 (D.C.Cir.1982) (stating as dictum that the exceptions in section 1605(a)(5)(B) do not limit section 1605(a)(2)). Every other court that has addressed this issue has construed the two clauses as mutually exclusive. See Carnival Cruise Lines, 159 B.R. at 1002; Foremost-McKesson, Inc. v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 759 F.Supp. 855, 859 (D.D.C.1991) (stating that the clear language of the statute declares that section 1605(a)(5) does not apply to section 1605(a)(2)); Le Donne v. Gulf Air, Inc., 700 F.Supp. 1400, 1410-11 (E.D.Va.1988) (expressly disagreeing with the district court's opinion in Gregorian and holding that subsection (a)(5)(B) ... operates only where ... the foreign state's acts are governmental, not commercial); Tifa, Ltd. v. Republic of Ghana, 692 F.Supp. 393, 404 (D.N.J.1988) (Section 1605(a)(5) does not apply to cases ... which involve commercial activity encompassed in section 1605(a)(2).); United Euram Corp. v. U.S.S.R., 461 F.Supp. 609, 612 (S.D.N.Y.1978) (same); Yessenin-Volpin v. Novosti Press Agency, 443 F.Supp. 849, 855 (S.D.N.Y.1978) (same). 37 Moreover, several courts, including this one, have addressed claims alleging the torts listed in section 1605(a)(5)(B) exclusively under the commercial activity exception, without mentioning the potential applicability of the noncommercial torts exemption. See, e.g., United World Trade, Inc. v. Mangyshlakneft Oil Production Ass'n, 33 F.3d 1232 (10th Cir.1994) (fraud and misrepresentation), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 904, 130 L.Ed.2d 787 (1995); General Elec. Capital Corp. v. Grossman, 991 F.2d 1376 (8th Cir.1993) (fraud and misrepresentation); Siderman de Blake, 965 F.2d at 710 (fraud and interference with business relationships); Richmark Corp., 937 F.2d at 1446 & n. 1 (fraud); Gould, Inc. v. Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann, 853 F.2d 445, 447 (6th Cir.1988) (unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, and interference with contractual relationship); Gilson, 682 F.2d at 1022 (dismissing claims for deceit and interference with contractual rights on statute of limitations grounds); Maizus v. Weldor Trust Reg., 820 F.Supp. 101 (S.D.N.Y.1993) (fraud and negligent misrepresentation); AMPAC Group Inc. v. Republic of Honduras, 797 F.Supp. 973 (S.D.Fla.1992) (finding jurisdiction under section 1605(a)(2) for claims of fraud and misrepresentation); L'Europeenne de Banque v. La Republica de Venezuela, 700 F.Supp. 114 (S.D.N.Y.1988) (finding jurisdiction under section 1605(a)(2) for fraud claim); Gibbons v. Udaras na Gaeltachta, 549 F.Supp. 1094, 1115 & n. 11 (S.D.N.Y.1982) (finding jurisdiction under section 1605(a)(2) for claims of fraud and interference with contractual relations). Thus, other courts have not found that section 1605(a)(5)(B) provides across-the-board immunity from these types of torts. 38