Opinion ID: 215188
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The PVA's Reciprocity Requirement

Text: The PVA's waiver of sovereign immunity is conditioned on the following reciprocity requirement: A national of a foreign country may not maintain a civil action under this chapter unless it appears to the satisfaction of the court in which the action is brought that the government of that country, in similar circumstances, allows nationals of the United States to sue in its courts. 46 U.S.C. § 31111. The district court held that the documents submitted by Plaintiffsan affidavit by an Ecuadorian lawyer and a translated copy of the Ecuadorian constitutionwere insufficient to establish that reciprocity exists. We agree. The documents say nothing about sovereign immunity or about suits for damages caused by the Ecuadorian government. Non-Ecuadorians may have equal access to Ecuadorian courts and a guarantee of due process, but those issues do not speak to whether Ecuador would allow a United States citizen to sue the Ecuadorian government in similar circumstances. Id. The documents are simply inapposite. Indeed, the affidavit from the Ecuadorian lawyer does not state that any party can sue the Ecuadorian government. The documents demonstrate that a foreign citizen can bring suit to the same extent as an Ecuadorian citizen, but the documents do not address the key issue here: whether the Ecuadorian government would waive sovereign immunity in similar circumstances. The failure of Plaintiffs' documents to demonstrate reciprocity does not necessarily end the inquiry. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 44.1, [i]n determining foreign law, the court may consider any relevant material or source, including testimony, whether or not submitted by a party or admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The court's determination must be treated as a ruling on a question of law. See Pazcoguin v. Radcliffe, 292 F.3d 1209, 1216 (9th Cir.2002) (discussing the determination of foreign law under Rule 44.1); Universe Sales Co. v. Silver Castle, Ltd., 182 F.3d 1036, 1037-39 (9th Cir.1999) (same). In Universe Sales, 182 F.3d at 1038, we elaborated that, pursuant to Rule 44.1, courts may ascertain foreign law through numerous means, including through the court's own research. Here, the district court held that, because Plaintiffs' documents did not establish reciprocity, Plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of demonstrating reciprocity. We are uncertain whether a plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the content of foreign law for purposes of the PVA's reciprocity requirement. Compare Fed. R.Civ.P. 44.1 (instructing that the district court's determination of foreign law is treated as a ruling on a question of law) and Nicholas E. Vernicos Shipping Co. v. United States, 349 F.2d 465, 467 (2d Cir. 1965) (conducting an extensive inquiry into the content of Greek law for purposes of determining reciprocity under 46 U.S.C. § 31111), with Lauro v. United States, 162 F.2d 32, 34-35 (2d Cir.1947) (rejecting, before the promulgation of Rule 44.1, a claim under the PVA brought by an Italian plaintiff because [s]he offered no proof of Italian law in the District Court). But even assuming that Plaintiffs bear the burden here, the district court apparently did not recognize that, in its discretion, it could inquire further into the content of Ecuadorian law. We therefore vacate and remand. Cf. United States v. Davis, 428 F.3d 802, 803 (9th Cir.2005) (Because the district court did not believe it had [certain] discretion, we vacate and remand for reconsideration. . . .). Whether reciprocity exists under Ecuadorian law remains undetermined. Notably, the attorney for the United States asserted at oral argument that he did not know whether such reciprocity exists. In these circumstances, we find it appropriate to give the parties and the court an additional opportunity to determine this threshold question. On remand, the court may instruct the parties to provide additional evidence, through testimony or other means; the court may conduct its own research; and the court may undertake any other inquiry consistent with Rule 44.1 to determine whether reciprocity exists under Ecuadorian law. [4] AFFIRMED in part, VACATED in part, and REMANDED. The parties shall bear their own costs on appeal.