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Doe v. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

851 F.3d 7 (2017)

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Doe v. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
851 F.3d 7 (2017)

Facts

Using the pseudonyms John Doe and Kidane to maintain his anonymity, a man (plaintiff) filed a lawsuit against the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) (defendant) in United States federal district court. Kidane alleged that he had been tricked into downloading a program that allowed the government of Ethiopia to spy on him. Kidane alleged that the tortious spying occurred from abroad while Kidane was in the United States. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), the government of Ethiopia had sovereign immunity from being sued in a United States court. Kidane argued that his privacy-invasion claim qualified for the FSIA’s noncommercial-tort exception to this sovereign immunity. The district court ruled that the tort alleged in the complaint did not qualify for the noncommercial-tort exception and, therefore, that the government of Ethiopia’s sovereign immunity protected it from Kidane’s lawsuit. The district court dismissed the complaint. Kidane appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Henderson, J.)

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