Friday, October 16, 2009

Cautionary Tale. Not from the Second Circuit, but of interest to appellate practitioners is the decision in Espitia v. Fouche. The Wisconsin Court of Appeal sanctioned a litigant for an citation error.

The decision in the case can be found here. The relevant portion of the decision is in paragraph 5.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Aiding and Abetting Alien Torts. The Second Circuit has set a high bar for foreign plaintiffs attempting to use U.S. courts to hold foreign defendants accountable for aiding and abetting human rights violations in foreign lands. Such a defendant may only be found liable if he or she "purposefully" aided and abetted a violation of international law. Knowledge alone is not enough.

The decision in The Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc. can be found here.