Princz v. Federal Republic of Germany
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
26 F.3d 1166 (1994)
- Written by Catherine Cotovsky, JD
Facts
Hugo Princz (plaintiff), an American citizen and Holocaust survivor, sued the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany) (defendant) to recover damages for false imprisonment, assault and battery, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and damages in quantum meruit for the value of his forced labor as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps between 1942 and 1945. Princz sought recovery through various reparations programs and diplomatic means, but after each attempt failed, Princz filed his suit in district court as a last resort. Germany accepted service of process and promptly moved to dismiss the matter for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction on the grounds of sovereign immunity. The district court held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) did not apply to the matter on account of the undisputed actions of Nazi Germany and denied Germany’s motion. Germany appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Ginsburg, J.)
Dissent (Wald, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 824,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
