Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, LTD. (573 U.S. 134)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 16, 2014 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 573 U.S. 134 · 134 S. Ct. 2250
- Decided
- June 16, 2014
- Term
- October Term 2013
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice SCALIA delivered the opinion of the Court. We must decide whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA or Act), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1330, 1602 et seq., limits the scope of discovery available to a judgment creditor in a federal postjudgment execution proceeding against a foreign sovereign. I. Background In 2001, petitioner, Republic of Argentina, defaulted on its external debt. In 2005 and 2010, it restructured most of that debt by offering creditors new securities (with less favorable terms) to swap out for the defaulted ones. Most bondholders went along. Respondent, NML Capital, Ltd. (NML), among others, did not. NML brought 11 actions against Argentina in the Southern District of New York to collect on its debt, and prevailed in every one.1 It is owed around $2.5 billion, which Argentina has not paid. Having been unable to collect on its judgments from Argentina, NML has attempted to execute them against Argentina's property. That postjudgment litigation "has involved lengthy attachment proceedings before the district court and multiple appeals." EM Ltd v. Republic of Argentina, 695 F.3d 201, 203, and n. 2 (C.A.2 2012) (referring the reader to prior opinions "[f]or additional background on Argentina's default and the resulting litigation"). Since 2003, NML has pursued discovery of Argentina's property. In 2010, " '[i]n order to locate Argentina's assets and…
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