Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain
| Decision Date | 12 March 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85 C 7721.,85 C 7721. |
| Citation | 650 F. Supp. 1040 |
| Parties | Enrique SEGNI, Plaintiff, v. COMMERCIAL OFFICE OF SPAIN, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Richard J. Witry, McCarthy, Duffy, Neidhart & Snakard, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.
Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Marcel Molins, Baker & McKenzie and Franklin P. Auwarter, George A. Martinez, Mayer, Brown & Platt, Chicago, Ill., for defendant.
This action arises out of an employment contract entered into by plaintiff Enrique Segni and Mercedes Rubio, acting in her official capacity as Commercial Attache of Spain on behalf of defendant Commercial Office of Spain ("Commercial Office"). This case is before the court on Rubio's motion to quash service.
The sole issue is whether the Commercial Office is "a state or political subdivision of a foreign state" for purposes of service under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act ("FSIA"), 28 U.S.C. § 1608(a), or whether it is "an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state" for purposes of service under the Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1608(b).
Service on "a state or political subdivision of a foreign state" requires a plaintiff (in the absence of a special arrangement between the parties or compliance with an international business convention governing service) to send a copy of the summons and complaint, together with a translation of each into the official language of the foreign state, to the foreign state's ministry of foreign affairs. 28 U.S.C. § 1608(a)(1)-(3). If service by that method cannot be made within 30 days, the plaintiff may have the clerk of the court send a copy of the summons and complaint, together with a translation of each, to the United States Secretary of State for service through diplomatic channels. Service on "an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state," by contrast, may be made simply by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint to an officer, managing agent, or other agent authorized by law to receive service of process. 28 U.S.C. § 1608(b)(2).
Plaintiff served the complaint in this case by personally leaving a copy of the complaint and summons with Rubio. It is undisputed that if § 1608(a) governs service of the Commercial Office, service of the complaint in this case was improper and the motion to quash must be granted. It is similarly undisputed that if 28 U.S.C. § 1608(b) governs service of the Commercial Office, service was proper and the motion must be denied.
The language of the FSIA does not clearly distinguish between "a state or political subdivision of a foreign state" and "an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state." The FSIA defines only the latter phrase, and that definition encompasses "any entity ... (2) which is an organ of a foreign state or political subdivision thereof...." 28 U.S.C. § 1603(b). This definition is not particularly lucid, because it suggests that every "political subdivision" of a foreign state is also an "agency or instrumentality" of that state—which would be inconsistent with the language of § 1608(a), which expressly imposes more stringent service requirements in cases brought against "political subdivisions" of foreign states than in cases brought against the "agencies or instrumentalities" of those states.
The legislative history of the FSIA makes the difference between "state or political subdivision" and "agency or instrumentality" clear, however. The distinction is between an entity that is an integral part of a foreign state's political structure, and an entity whose structure and function is...
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Garb v. Republic of Poland
...commercial.'" Transaero, Inc. v. La Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, 30 F.3d 148, 151 (D.C.Cir.1994) (quoting Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain, 650 F.Supp. 1040, 1041-42 (N.D.Ill.1986)). The issue in Transaero was whether the Bolivian Air Force qualified as an agency or instrumentality of Bolivia......
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Garb v. Republic of Poland
...the recognition of other courts that the House Report is confusing and internally inconsistent, see, e.g., Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain, 650 F.Supp. 1040, 1041 (N.D.Ill.1988) ("The language of the FSIA does not clearly distinguish between a state or political subdivision of a foreign......
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Hyatt Corp. v. Stanton, 96 Civ. 4934 (MBM).
...30 F.3d 148, 151 (D.C.Cir. 1994), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 1101, 130 L.Ed.2d 1068 (1995); Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain, 650 F.Supp. 1040, 1041 (N.D.Ill.1986). Other courts have applied a "legal characteristics" test — i.e., an entity is an agency or instrumentality if, u......
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Transaero, Inc. v. La Fuerza Aerea Boliviana
...political structure, [or rather] an entity whose structure and function is predominantly commercial." Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain, 650 F.Supp. 1040, 1041-42 (N.D.Ill.1988). The amicus curiae brief of the United States in this case proposes a similar test that looks to the "core func......
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International law - core characteristics test determines "agency or instrumentality" status for takings exception to Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act.
...Id. at 684. (23.) See Transaero, 30 F.3d at 151 (establishing core characteristics test); see also Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain, 650 F. Supp. 1040, 1041-42 (N.D. Ill. 1986) (discussing predecessor to core characteristics (24.) 30 F.3d 148 (D.C. Cir. 1994). (25.) Transaero, 30 F.3d at......