Shell, which denies any wrongdoing, now argues that the Alien Tort Act should not apply to corporations, even American ones, and furthermore should not cover violations committed outside American jurisdiction.
The FDIC can also claim sovereign immunity based on the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
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The law under which Mr Karadzic has been sued is known as the Alien Tort Claims Act, originally a part of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
After all, claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act usually end with a massive default judgment after the defendant skips the country, never to pay up.
Last year the U.S. State Department intervened in a Tort Claims Act suit seeking damages from ExxonMobil for work in Indonesia, warning the suit could imperil counterterrorism initiatives.
The Roberts Court is also likely to trim the sails of plaintiff lawyers who want to use the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act to pursue 21st-century class actions, Feder said.
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The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages is based on several claims, but rests primarily on the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, which open the door for the Saharkizes to sue a Finnish company for goings-on in Iran.
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The Alien Tort Statute, enacted as part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, permits federal courts to recognize private claims in for a limited number of international law violations.
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Although the killing occurred in Colombia, the lawsuit argues that U.S. federal laws -- including the Alien Tort Statute and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act -- give American courts jurisdiction in the case.
Allowing a disappointed vaccine claimant who lost in Vaccine Court to then seek compensation for design defects via civil tort litigation would exacerbate, not ameliorate, the costly burden of litigation that initially prompted Congress to pass the Vaccine Act, WLF argued.
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