McKesson Corp. v. Islamic Republic of Iran
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
672 F.3d 1066 (2012)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
McKesson Corporation (plaintiff) was engaged in a long-running, federal-court lawsuit seeking damages for the seizure of McKesson’s property by the Islamic Republic of Iran (defendant). In an earlier decision, the District of Columbia Circuit overruled the district court and held that McKesson could not sue the Islamic Republic under a treaty between the United States and the previous Iranian government. On remand, the district court ruled that McKesson had a private right of action to enforce customary international law against the Islamic Republic under the commercial-activities exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), as well as under Iranian law. The district court likened the FSIA exception to the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), first enacted in 1789. In Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, the United States Supreme Court had recently ruled that the ATS created a private right of action to enforce customary international law in a limited set of cases. The Islamic Republic appealed that ruling to the circuit court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Brown, J.)
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