Bernstein v. NV NEDERLANDSCHE-AMERIKAANSCHE, ETC.

Decision Date05 February 1954
Docket NumberNo. 21193.,21193.
Citation210 F.2d 375
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit
PartiesBERNSTEIN v. N. V. NEDERLANDSCHE-AMERIKAANSCHE STOOMVAART-MAATSCHAPPIJ (Chemical Bank & Trust Co., Third-Party Defendant).

Bennet, House & Couts, New York City, for plaintiff-petitioner; Victor House, Albert I. Edelman and Werner Ilsen, New York City, of counsel.

Burlingham, Hupper & Kennedy, New York City, for defendantHolland-America Line; Harold M. Kennedy, and Hervey C. Allen, Jr., New York City, of counsel.

Shearman & Sterling & Wright, New York City, for Third-Party Defendant, Chemical Bank & Trust Company; John A. Wilson, M. VanVoorhies and Edmond K. Leach, New York City, of counsel.

Before AUGUSTUS N. HAND, CLARK and FRANK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

In the prior appeal in this case, 173 F.2d 71, 75-76, because of the lack of a definitive expression of Executive Policy, we felt constrained to follow the decision of this court in Bernstein v. Van Heyghen Freres Societe Anonyme, 2 Cir., 163 F.2d 246, certiorari denied332 U.S. 772, 68 S.Ct. 88, 92 L.Ed. 357, by ordering the plaintiff to refrain from alleging matters which would cause the court to pass on the validity of acts of officials of the German government.Following our decision, however, the State Department issued Press ReleaseNo. 296 on April 27, 1949, entitled: "Jurisdiction of United States Courts Re Suits for Identifiable Property Involved in Nazi Forced Transfers."The substance of this Release follows:

"As a matter of general interest, the Department publishes herewith a copy of a letter of April 13, 1949 from Jack B. Tate, Acting Legal Advisor, Department of State, to the Attorneys for the plaintiff in Civil ActionNo. 31-555 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
"The letter repeats this Government\'s opposition to forcible acts of dispossession of a discriminatory and confiscatory nature practiced by the Germans on the countries or peoples subject to their controls; states that it is this Government\'s policy to undo the forced transfers and restitute identifiable property to the victims of Nazi persecution wrongfully deprived of such property; and sets forth that the policy of the Executive, with respect to claims asserted in the United States for restitution of such property, is to relieve American courts from any restraint upon the exercise of their jurisdiction to pass upon the validity of the acts
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50 cases
  • Von Dardel v. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Columbia
    • October 15, 1985
    ...law, courts have recognized the need for an appropriate exercise of jurisdiction. In Bernstein v. N.V. Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart-Maatschappij, 210 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1954), the court deferred to a press release issued by the Department of State in which the Department took the p......
  • Sharon v. Time, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • November 12, 1984
    ...de Cuba, 406 U.S. 759, 768, 92 S.Ct. 1808, 1813, 32 L.Ed.2d 466 (1972) (plurality opinion); Bernstein v. N.V. Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, 210 F.2d 375, 375-76 (2d Cir.1954); Restatement (Revised) of Foreign Relations Law § 428 at 9-10 (Tent.Draft No. 4, 1983) (where......
  • Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Chase Manhattan Bank
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • January 4, 1980
    ...Cuban State until much later. In connection with our discussion of Act of State, it must be observed that Chase and Citibank each have a "Bernstein letter" from the Office of the Secretary of State of the United States. Bernstein v. N. V. Nederlandsche, 210 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1954). The 5-4 ......
  • Princz v. Federal Republic of Germany
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit
    • July 1, 1994
    ...branch would have opted to deny Germany's claims to immunity for the crimes alleged in this case. Cf. Bernstein v. N.V. Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche, 210 F.2d 375, 376 (2d Cir.1954) (allowing district court to pass on validity of acts of officials of German government due to State Department......
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7 books & journal articles
  • Chapter 12. Application of Merger Laws to Multinational Transactions
    • United States
    • ABA Archive Editions Library Mergers and Acquisitions: Understanding the Antitrust Issues, 2d Edition
    • January 1, 2004
    ...to address whether there is a “Bernstein letter” exception, see Bernstein v. NV Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche StoomvaartMaatschappij, 210 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1954) (per curiam), to the act of state doctrine. But the Court’s adoption of a “balancing approach” leaves it open to a court to decline......
  • Application of Merger Laws to Multinational Transactions
    • United States
    • ABA Antitrust Library Mergers and Acquisitions. Understanding the Antitrust Issues. Fourth Edition
    • December 6, 2015
    ...to address whether there is a “Bernstein letter” exception, see Bernstein v. NV Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche, Stoomvaart-Maatschappij, 210 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1954) (per curiam), to the act of state doctrine. But the Court’s adoption of a “balancing approach” leaves it open to a court to decli......
  • Table of Cases
    • United States
    • ABA Archive Editions Library Mergers and Acquisitions: Understanding the Antitrust Issues, 2d Edition
    • January 1, 2004
    ...Inc. v. Allied-Signal, Inc., 106 F. Supp. 2d 814 (M.D.N.C. 2000), 75 Bernstein v. NV Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche StoomvaartMaatschappij, 210 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1954), 426 Betaseed, Inc. v. U & I Inc., 681 F.2d 1203 (9th Cir. 1982), 385 Big Bear Lodging Association v. Snow Summit, Inc., 182 F......
  • Antitrust and International Commerce
    • United States
    • ABA Antitrust Library Antitrust Law Developments (Ninth Edition) - Volume II
    • February 2, 2022
    ...act took place within the territorial jurisdiction of the sovereign, and (3) the matter is governmental rather than commercial. 310 304. 210 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1954). 305. First Nat’l City Bank , 406 U.S. at 768; see also Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U.S. 398, 462 (1964) (White, ......
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