Moscow Fire Insurance Company, Respondents v. Bank of New York and Trust Company, as Agent…

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts' distribution of the surplus assets of the Moscow Fire Insurance Company's New York branch to its creditors and stockholders, rejecting the United States' claim as assignee of the Soviet government. The court held that Soviet nationalization decrees have no extraterritorial effect on property located in New York and that New York law, not foreign law, governs the disposition of those assets.