Also known as: foreign states · foreign sovereign
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A sovereign political entity other than the United States.
The State of New York sues the Republic of France in federal court over a boundary dispute involving shared waters. The court exercises jurisdiction because the controversy is between a state and a foreign state under the constitutional grant.
Fusion Power, incorporated in Canada with its principal place of business in Ontario, faces a contract suit from a U.S. plaintiff. The court treats Fusion Power as a citizen of the foreign state of Canada for diversity purposes.
Parties domiciled in State A transfer interests in land located in Mexico. The court applies its own procedural rules to joinder while looking to Mexican law for capacity issues arising from the foreign state situs.
A U.S. official accepts an honorary title from the Kingdom of Spain without congressional consent. The acceptance violates the constitutional prohibition on receiving any title from a foreign state.
A citizen of Germany sues the State of California in federal court for breach of contract. The Eleventh Amendment bars the action because it is commenced by a subject of a foreign state against one of the United States.
A U.S. citizen joins a claim against a Canadian defendant with a separate federal question claim exceeding the jurisdictional amount. The court exercises supplemental jurisdiction over the entire action despite the foreign citizenship element.
In 1991, about 10,000 Exxon dealers filed a class-action suit against the Exxon Corporation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. They alleged an intentional and systematic scheme by which they were overcharged for fuel purchased from Exxon. The plaintiffs invoked the District Court's diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Each dealer's claim was for slightly less than the $75,000 jurisdictional minimum. After a unanimous jury verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, the District Court certified the case for interlocutory review on the question of supplemental jurisdiction over class members who did not meet the jurisdictional minimum. In a separate action, a 9-year-old girl sued Star-Kist in a diversity action in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. She sought damages for unusually severe injuries she received when she sliced her finger on a tuna can. Her family joined in the suit seeking damages for emotional distress and medical expenses. The District Court granted summary judgment to Star-Kist, finding that none of the plaintiffs met the minimum amount-in-controversy requirement. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the District Court's extension of supplemental jurisdiction to the class members who did not meet the amount requirement. The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the injured girl, but not her family members, had made allegations of damages in the requisite amount. It further held that section 1367 authorizes supplemental jurisdiction only when the district court has original jurisdiction over the action. In a diversity case, original jurisdiction is lacking if one plaintiff fails to satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the conflict among the Courts of Appeals. The cases were consolidated before the Supreme Court.
View caseArticle III extends judicial power to controversies between a state and foreign states, citizens, or subjects, allowing federal courts to hear such cases.
A corporation is a citizen of every foreign state where it is incorporated and where it has its principal place of business.
Yes. The amendment prohibits suits against a state by citizens or subjects of any foreign state in federal court.
…of fair notice also, I believe, includes fair warning that a particular activity may subject a person to the jurisdiction of a foreign sovereign. If I visit another State, or acquire real estate or open a bank account in it, I knowingly assume some risk that the State will exercise its power over my property or my person while…