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Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation

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Supreme Court of the United States
Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation
Term: 2021
Important Dates
Argued: January 18, 2022
Decided: April 21, 2022
Outcome
vacated and remanded
Vote
9-0
Majority
Elena Kagan • Chief Justice John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Stephen Breyer • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh • Amy Coney Barrett

Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation is a case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on April 21, 2022, during the court's October 2021-2022 term. The case was argued on January 18, 2022.

The court vacated the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in a unanimous ruling and remanded the case. Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan held that in a Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) suit raising non-federal claims against a foreign government, a court should determine the law to apply by using the same choice-of-law rule applicable in a similar suit against a private party. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the lower court should apply the State’s choice-of-law rule, not a federal common law rule.[1] Click here for more information about the ruling.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The issue: The case concerned Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act (2016) claims. Click here to learn more about the case's background.
  • The question presented: "Whether a federal court hearing state law claims brought under the FSIA must apply the forum state’s choice-of-law rules to determine what substantive law governs the claims at issue, or whether it may apply federal common law."[2]
  • The outcome: The court vacated the 9th Circuit's decision in a unanimous ruling and remanded the case. The court held that in an FSIA suit raising non-federal claims against a foreign government, a court should determine the law to apply by using the same choice-of-law rule applicable in comparable private litigation.[1]


    • The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. To review the lower court's opinion, click here.[3]

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • April 21, 2022: The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the 9th Circuit's decision in a unanimous ruling and remanded the case.
    • January 18, 2022: The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument.
    • September 30, 2021: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
    • May 6, 2021: David Cassirer, et al. appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    • August 17, 2020: The 9th Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California's ruling.

    Background

    The plaintiff-appellants in the case were David Cassirer, the estate of Ava Cassirer, and the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, known collectively as "Cassirer". Cassirer sought to recover a painting by Camille Pissarro entitled Rue Saint-Honoré, Afternoon, Rain Effect (1897). Paul Cassirer purchased the painting from Pissarro's agent in 1900. The painting was stolen from the family of Holocaust survivor Lilly Cassirer by the Nazi regime in 1939. The painting was illegally transferred from Germany into California after World War II and traded privately in the United States between 1951 and 1976. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation ("TBC"), a subsidiary of the Kingdom of Spain, purchased the painting from Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza in 1993.[3][4]

    In a prior appeal in 2017, Cassirer sought to recover the painting from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The district court granted summary judgment to TBC, holding that the case was subject to Spanish law and in applying Spanish legal doctrine, undisputed evidence allowed TBC to prevail as a matter of law. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed the district court, holding that it was unclear whether TBC knew the painting was stolen when it made the purchase in 1993.[3]

    In a new bench trial in 2019, the Central District of California held that TBC did not know the painting was stolen when it made the purchase. On appeal, the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court's conclusion.[3]

    On May 6, 2021, Cassirer petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review in the case. On September 30, SCOTUS added the case to its merits docket.

    Question presented

    The petitioner presented the following question to the court:[2]

    Question presented:
    “ Whether a federal court hearing state law claims brought under the FSIA must apply the forum state’s choice-of-law rules to determine what substantive law governs the claims at issue, or whether it may apply federal common law.[5] ”

    Oral argument

    The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on January 18, 2022.

    Audio

    Audio of oral argument:[6]



    Transcript

    Transcript of oral argument:[7]

    Outcome

    In a unanimous opinion, the court vacated the judgment of the 9th Circuit and remanded the case. The court held that in a Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) suit raising non-federal claims against a foreign government, a court should determine the law to apply by using the same choice-of-law rule applicable in a similar suit against a private party. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the lower court should apply the State’s choice-of-law rule, not a federal common law rule. Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the court.[1]

    Opinion

    In the court's majority opinion, Justice Kagan wrote:[1]

    “

    Section 1606 dictates the selection of a choice-of-law rule: It must mirror the rule that would apply in a similar suit between private parties. Only the same choice-of-law rule can guarantee use of the same substantive law—and thus guarantee the same liability. Consider two suits seeking recovery of a painting: one suit against a foreign-statecontrolled museum (as here), the other against a private museum. If the choice-of-law rules in the two suits differed, so might the substantive law chosen. And if the substantive law differed, so might the suits’ outcomes. Contrary to Section 1606, the two museums would not be “liable to the same manner and to the same extent.”

    In this case, Section 1606 requires the use of California’s choice-oflaw rule—because that is the rule a court would use in comparable private litigation. Consider the just-hypothesized suit against a private museum, brought as this case was in California and asserting non-federal claims. If the private suit were filed in state court, California’s choice-of-law rule would govern. And if the private suit were filed in federal court, the same would be true, because a federal court sitting in diversity borrows the forum State’s choice-of-law rule. See Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Elec. Mfg. Co., 313 U. S. 487, 496. If California’s choice-of-law rule applies in the private-museum suit, it must also apply in the suit here, against the Foundation. That is the only way to ensure—as Section 1606 demands—that the Foundation, although a Spanish instrumentality, will be liable in the same way as a private party.[5]

    		”
    —Justice Elena Kagan

    Text of the opinion

    Read the full opinion here.

    October term 2021-2022

    See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2021-2022

    The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 4, 2021. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions in mid-June.[8]

    The court agreed to hear 68 cases during its 2021-2022 term.[9] Four cases were dismissed and one case was removed from the argument calendar.[10]

    The court issued decisions in 66 cases during its 2021-2022 term. Three cases were decided without argument. Between 2007 and 2021, SCOTUS released opinions in 1,128 cases, averaging 75 cases per year.


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Supreme Court of the United States, Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, decided April 21, 2022
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Supreme Court, "20-1566 CASSIRER V. THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA FOUND; QUESTION PRESENTED:," accessed September 30, 2021
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Found., decided August 17, 2020
    4. ↑ U.S. Supreme Court, "Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI," accessed October 7, 2021
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    6. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Audio," argued January 18, 2022
    7. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Transcript," argued January 18, 2022
    8. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed February 4, 2021
    9. ↑ Consolidated cases are counted as one case for purposes of this number.
    10. ↑ U.S. Supreme Court, "Order List: 593 U.S.," May 17, 2021
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