Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation

Summary

Justice Kagan wrote for a unanimous Court that, in an FSIA suit raising non-federal claims, courts must use the choice-of-law rule applicable to comparable litigation against a private party. Section 1606 requires foreign states lacking immunity to face the same liability as private individuals under like circumstances; using different choice-of-law rules could produce different substantive law and liability. California’s choice-of-law rule therefore governs this litigation, rather than federal common law. The Court vacated the Ninth Circuit’s judgment and remanded without deciding which jurisdiction’s substantive property law applies or who owns the painting. There were no separate opinions.