Opinion Summary: Hungary v. Simon | Date Decided: 2/21/25 | Case No. 23-867
Podcast:SCOTUS Oral Arguments and Opinions Published On: Fri Feb 21 2025 Description: Case Info: Hungary v. Simon | Date Decided: 2/21/25 | Case No. 23-867Link to Docket: Here.Questions Presented:Whether historical commingling of assets suffices to establish that proceeds of seized property have a commercial nexus with the United States under the expropriation exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.Whether a plaintiff must make out a valid claim that an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act applies at the pleading stage, rather than merely raising a plausible inference.Whether a sovereign defendant bears the burden of producing evidence to affirmatively disprove that the proceeds of property taken in violation of international law have a commercial nexus with the United States under the expropriation exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.Holding: Alleging commingling of funds alone cannot satisfy the commercial nexus requirement of the FSIA’s expropriation exception.Result: Vacated and remanded.Voting Breakdown: Justice Sotomayor delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.Link to Opinion: Here. Oral Advocates:For petitioners: Joshua S. Glasgow, Buffalo, N. Y.; and Sopan Joshi, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondents: Shay Dvoretzky, Washington, D. C.Website Link to Oral Argument: Here.Apple Podcast Link to Oral Argument: Here.