Cassirer v. Kingdom of Spain

616 F.3d 1019 (2010)

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Cassirer v. Kingdom of Spain

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
616 F.3d 1019 (2010)

RW

Facts

Germany’s Nazi government unlawfully confiscated a valuable painting from its owner in 1939. In 2000, the owner’s grandson, Claude Cassirer (plaintiff), learned that a Spanish foundation lawfully acquired the painting in the 1980s. The foundation was an instrumentality of the Kingdom of Spain (Spain) (defendant). Cassirer filed suit against the Spanish government in a United States federal district court to recover the painting. The court found that the Spanish foundation often featured the painting in its American business advertising. Accordingly, the court rejected Spain’s assertion of sovereign immunity and denied Spain’s motion to dismiss the case. Spain appealed, arguing that Spain played no role in the 1939 confiscation and that the Spanish foundation’s American business dealings were neither significant nor conducted to make a profit. A panel of Ninth Circuit judges affirmed the district court’s ruling. The full court then agreed to hear Spain’s appeal en banc.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Rymer, J.)

Dissent (Gould, J.)

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