Category: Legal Articles

Foreign sovereign immunity answers a deceptively simple question: when can a foreign state be sued in U.S. courts? The doctrine determines whether investors, contractors, and award creditors can reach sovereigns and their state-owned entities. Just as importantly, it determines whether a judgment against them can actually be collected. Two unanimous U.S. Supreme...

Section 1782 discovery is an unusual feature of U.S. law: a federal statute that lets participants in foreign proceedings obtain American-style evidence — documents and depositions — from persons located in the United States. For two decades it was among the most powerful tools in cross-border disputes. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022...

Indirect expropriation is the most litigated concept in international investment law. A government rarely announces that it is taking a foreign investor’s property. Far more often, the government revokes a permit, imposes a tax, or takes regulatory action that leaves the investor holding title to an asset with no remaining value. This...

Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards under the New York Convention is where an international arbitration either pays off or falls short. Winning an award is only a piece of paper until a court somewhere converts it into money or compliance. The instrument that makes this possible in most of the world is...

An employment arbitration agreement is a binding contract between an employer and an employee. In practice, it requires workplace disputes to go to private arbitration instead of court. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) makes these agreements broadly enforceable nationwide. However, they remain subject to narrow statutory exclusions and standard contract defenses.

The independence principle in letter of credit law means that a bank's duty to pay is separate from the underlying sales contract. If the beneficiary presents documents that comply with the credit's terms, the issuing bank must honor the demand, even if the buyer claims the goods are defective. Courts recognize only...

How does an arbitration clause work? In short, the clause moves covered disputes out of court and into private arbitration. When a disagreement arises, one party serves a written demand for arbitration. Courts must respect the agreement and pause any related lawsuit. An arbitrator then hears the case and issues a binding...

CISG Article 79 exempts a party from damages for non-performance when an impediment beyond its control, unforeseeable at contracting and unavoidable in effect, causes the failure. The exemption lasts while the impediment persists, requires prompt notice, and blocks only damages claims. Courts remain divided on whether economic hardship qualifies as an impediment.

An IEEPA tariff refund is money U.S. Customs and Border Protection returns to importers who paid tariffs the Supreme Court invalidated on February 20, 2026. Importers of record claim it by filing a CAPE Declaration in the ACE Portal listing eligible entries. CBP then reliquidates those entries and pays the duties plus...

Tortious interference in Florida is an intentional tort. It occurs when someone knowingly and unjustifiably disrupts another party's contract or business relationship, causing damage. A claimant must prove the relationship, the defendant's knowledge, intentional and unjustified interference, and a resulting loss. Florida law allows compensatory damages, and in egregious cases punitive damages,...