Opinion ID: 787911
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of the NATO-SOFA

Text: 31 Two provisions of the NATO-SOFA are central to this case. First, Article I, paragraph 1 defines force for purposes of the agreement to mean the personnel belonging to the land, sea, or air armed services of one Contracting Party when in the territory of another Contracting Party in the North Atlantic Treaty area in connexion with their official duties.... NATO-SOFA, art. I, ¶ 1(a), 4 U.S.T. at 1794. The treaty goes on to state that the two Contracting Parties concerned may agree that certain individuals, units, or formations shall not be regarded as constituting or included in a `force' for the purposes of the present Agreement. Id. 32 Under the basic definition, Southall and the other ten Doe defendants were all members of a force at the time of the Tacoma incident: The complaint alleges that they were active members of the British military present within the United States on active duty for the purposes of training exercises. They therefore were here in connexion with their official duties. 33 Moore argues that the district court could not have known whether these defendants fall under the exception to the force definition, i.e., whether Britain and the United States had agreed that any of the individuals named as defendants should not be regarded as constituting or included in a `force' under the NATO-SOFA. Moore, however, points to no such agreement. 7 As he is relying on an exception within the text of the treaty, the burden is on him to show that the exception applies. See, e.g., United States v. Henry, 615 F.2d 1223, 1234-35 (9th Cir.1980) (articulating the well-established rule ... that a [party] who relies upon an exception to a statute made by a proviso or distinct clause, whether in the same section of the statute or elsewhere, has the burden of establishing and showing that he comes within the exception.). Because Moore has not alleged any agreement in his complaint, we conclude that the defendants all come under the terms of the NATO-SOFA.