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Republic of Hungary v. Simon (2021)

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Supreme Court of the United States
Republic of Hungary v. Simon
Term: 2020
Important Dates
Argument: December 7, 2020
Decided: February 3, 2021
Outcome
Vacated and remanded
Vote
9-0
Majority
Per curiam


Republic of Hungary v. Simon is a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on December 7, 2020, during the court's October 2020-2021 term. The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The case concerned the doctrine of international comity and the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).

In a per curiam opinion, the court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court ruling in Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp.[1] Click here for more information about the ruling.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The case: The case arose out of opposing rulings in the 7th Circuit and the D.C. Circuit. Jewish survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust sued the Hungarian government and Magyar Államvasutak Zrt., Hungary's state-owned railway company. The survivors sought damages for property the Hungarian government confiscated during World War II. The 7th Circuit ruled that under the doctrine of international comity, the survivors should first file suit in Hungarian courts. The D.C. Circuit held the opposite view.[2][3]
  • The issue: "May the district court abstain from exercising jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for reasons of international comity, where former Hungarian nationals have sued the nation of Hungary to recover the value of property lost in Hungary during World War II, and where the plaintiffs made no attempt to exhaust local Hungarian remedies?"[4]
  • The outcome: In a per curiam opinion, the court vacated the D.C. Circuit's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court ruling in Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp.


    • You can review the lower court's opinion here.

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • February 3, 2021: The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings.
    • December 7, 2020: The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument.
    • July 2, 2020: The court agreed to hear the case.
    • May 16, 2019: The Republic of Hungary and Magyar Államvasutak Zrt., the petitioners, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    • December 28, 2018: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed the district court's ruling and remanded the case.

    Background

    In 2010, three groups, including the respondents, filed three identical lawsuits—two in Chicago (the 7th Circuit) and one in Washington, D.C. (the D.C. Circuit)—against the Hungarian government and Magyar Államvasutak Zrt. (MAV), Hungary's state-owned railway company. The respondents were Jewish survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust.[2] They sought to represent a class of current and former Hungarian citizens seeking damages for property taken from them in Hungary during World War II.[3]

    According to the petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, the respondents did not try to obtain legal remedies in Hungary before filing the lawsuits in the United States.[3]

    Chicago lawsuits

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit pointed to the doctrine of international comity, holding that the groups needed to seek legal remedies in Hungary or show "a powerful reason to excuse the requirement" in the United States.[3]

    The 7th Circuit said:[3]

    “ We should consider how the United States would react if a foreign court ordered the U.S. Treasury or the Federal Reserve Bank to pay a group of plaintiffs 40 percent of U.S. annual gross domestic product, which would be roughly $6 trillion, or $20,000 for every resident in the United States. And consider further the reaction if such an order were based on events that happened generations ago in the United States itself, without any effort to secure just compensation through U.S. courts.[5] ”

    D.C. lawsuit

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the district court's decisions, which aligned with the 7th Circuit's rulings.[3] The D.C. Circuit said:[6]

    “ A proper application of the relevant factors leaves no basis for designating Hungary the strongly preferred location for this litigation because Hungary is not home to any identified plaintiff, has not been shown to be the source of governing law, lacks a process for remediation recognized by the United States government, and is not the only location of material amounts of evidence.[5] ”


    The petitioners in this case argued that the D.C. Circuit's rulings "have profoundly important consequences for international comity, for foreign sovereigns sued in U.S. courts, and for the United States’ own foreign policy interests."[3]

    Respondents

    The respondents were Rosalie Simon, Helen Herman, Charlotte Weiss, Helena Weksberg, Rose Miller, Magda Kopolovich Bar-Or, Zehava (Olga) Friedman, Yitzhak Pressburger, Alexander Speiser, Ze’ev Tibi Ram, Vera Deutsch Danos, Ella Feuerstein Schlanger, Moshe Perel, Yosef Yogev, Asher Yogev Esther Zelikovitch, and the Estate of Tzvi Zelikovitch.[3]

    Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

    Congress passed the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) in 1976. The FSIA held that foreign states are immune from lawsuits in federal and state courts, with exceptions. The expropriation exception (28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(3)) allows lawsuits against a foreign state involving "property taken in violation of international law."

    Questions presented

    The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[4]

    Questions presented:
    “ May the district court abstain from exercising jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for reasons of international comity, where former Hungarian nationals have sued the nation of Hungary to recover the value of property lost in Hungary during World War II, and where the plaintiffs made no attempt to exhaust local Hungarian remedies?[5] ”


    Oral argument

    Audio

    Audio of oral argument:[7]



    Transcript

    Outcome

    In a per curiam opinion, the court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court ruling in Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp.[1] A per curiam decision is issued collectively by the court. The authorship is not indicated. Click here for more information.

    Text of the opinion

    Read the full opinion here.

    Additional reading

    October term 2020-2021

    The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 5, 2020. 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 issued 67 opinions during its 2020-2021 term. Two cases were decided in one consolidated opinion. Ten cases were decided without argument. Click here for more information on the court's opinions.

    The court agreed to hear 62 cases during its 2020-2021 term. Of those, 12 were originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 term but were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Five cases were removed from the argument calendar.


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. ROSALIE SIMON, ET AL.: Slip opinion," decided February 3, 2021
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Simon v. Republic of Hungary, decided January 29, 2016
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Supreme Court of the United States, Republic of Hungary v. Simon, "Petition for a writ of certiorari," accessed July 2, 2020
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Supreme Court of the United States, Republic of Hungary v. Simon, "Questions presented," accessed July 2, 2020
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    6. ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Simon v. Republic of Hungary, decided December 28, 2018
    7. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Audio," accessed December 11, 2020
    8. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "A Brief Overview of the Supreme Court," accessed April 20, 2015
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