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Civil Procedure — Personal jurisdiction; Holocaust victims

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 23, 2012//

Civil Procedure — Personal jurisdiction; Holocaust victims

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 23, 2012//

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Civil Procedure — Personal jurisdiction; Holocaust victims

U.S. district courts lack jurisdiction over claims against foreign banks for stealing property during the Holocaust.

“The losses alleged by plaintiffs were part of the crimes of the Holocaust in central Europe in the 1940s. This case demonstrates some of the limits in trying to use civil courts on another continent to obtain legal relief for those crimes, now more than 60 years old. Our order that the claims against MKB and OTP be dismissed is not based on a determination that the conduct alleged here was beyond the reach of the law. When faced with similar claims, Judge Kram wrote eloquently: It goes without saying that the events which form the backdrop of this case make up one of the darkest periods of man’s modern history. Those persecuted by the Nazis were the victims of unspeakable acts of inhumanity. At the same time, however, it must be understood that the law is a tool of limited capacity.

Not every wrong, even the worst, is cognizable as a legal claim.

In re Austrian & German Bank Holocaust Litigation, 80 F. Supp. 2d 164, 177 (S.D.N.Y. 2000), aff’d on other grounds sub nom. D’Amato v. Deutsche Bank, 236 F.3d 78 (2d Cir. 2001). We agree. We are a court of law that must itself comply with the law. We must confront a basic jurisdictional question — whether plaintiffs are entitled to require these defendants to defend themselves in a U.S. federal court. The district court lacks the constitutional power to exercise personal jurisdiction over these defendants, so the answer to that question is no. We
order the district court to dismiss the claims against MKB and OTP for lack of personal jurisdiction.”

Petitions Granted.

11-2353, 11-2386, 11-2875, 11-3247, and 11-3249 Abelesz v. OTP Bank

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Der-Yeghiayan, J., Hamilton, J.

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