Appeals Court Affirms Lower Court Decision to Dismiss Contract Dispute Against Congo
A U.S. district court rightfully dismissed a federal lawsuit against the Democratic Republic of the Congo for breach of contract because it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, said the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a July 2 opinion. Triple A International had sued the Congo in 2010 after the company did not receive some $14 million for military equipment sold to country's predecessor, Zaire. The district court ruled against Triple A, saying the Congo had sovereign immunity.
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Triple A's appeal argued that the country should not be protected by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act because it falls within an exemption to the law. Specifically, Triple A said the Congo is not immune because Zaire's purchase of military equipment amounts to commercial activity that includes substantial contact with the U.S. But that interpretation of the law's text would essentially make the rest of the statute largely superfluous and not applicable, the court said. While the company pointed to the law's legislative history as proof, "no amount of legislative history can rescue an interpretation that does as much damage to the enacted text as Triple A's interpretation does here," the decision said.
(Triple A International Inc.. v. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, 6th Circ. No. 12-1595, dated 07/02/13)