Eighth Circuit Examines Circuit Split In Approaches To Foreign Antisuit Injunctions

In Goss Int’l Corp. v. Man Roland Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft, 491 F.3d 355 (8th Cir. June 18, 2007), the district court enjoined a Japanese company within its jurisdiction from pursuing certain claims in Japanese courts. On appeal, the Eighth Circuit reversed the injunction as outside the scope of permissible grounds.

In considering the merits, in a matter of first impression for that jurisdiction, the court examined a split in the over the level of deference that should be afforded to international comity in determining whether a foreign antisuit injunction should issue. Under the “conservative” approach, adopted in the First, Second, Third, Sixth and D.C. Circuits, the movant must demonstrate both that the contemplated action in a foreign jurisdiction would prevent U.S. jurisdiction of threaten a vital U.S. policy, and that the domestic interests outweigh concerns of international comity. In contract, the “liberal” approach, adopted in the Fifth and Ninth Circuits and referenced with approval by the Seventh Circuit, only modest emphasis is to be placed on international comity, and an injunction may be issued when necessary to prevent duplicative and vexatious foreign litigation and to avoid inconsistent judgments.

The Eighth Circuit concluded that the “conservative” approach had the better argument, and particularly emphasized the importance of international comity in the new globalized economy.

Ninth Circuit Upholds Long-Arm Jurisdiction From Obtaining Foreign Court Orders

A recent Ninth Circuit opinion considered whether long-arm jurisdiction can be triggered through a party’s bringing foreign court proceedings against an American citizen.

In Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre Racisme et L’Antisemitisme, No. 01-17424 (9th Cir. Jan. 12, 2006), the popular Internet company Yahoo! brought an action in California federal court seeking a declaration that several orders entered against it in France were of no force and effect. The defendants had obtained orders from a French court finding that Yahoo! had permitted its users to use the site to sell Nazi memorabilia in violation of French law, and requiring Yahoo! to set up filters to prevent users in France from browsing the offending pages.

Eight of the eleven judges on the Ninth Circuit panel agreed that the district court had personal jurisdiction over the French defendants. Applying principles of long-arm jurisdiction, the majority concluded that the defendants “purposefully availed” themselves of the privilege of conducting activities in California and/or “purposefully directed” activities with a California party by bringing proceedings against that party in the French courts.