Case law

Enron Nigeria Power Holding, Ltd. v. Federal Republic of Nigeria

234 F. Supp. 3d 251 · District Court, District of Columbia · Aug 6, 2015

Nigeria unambiguously waived its sovereign immunity in the PPA, which stated—in a section titled “Waiver of Sovereign Immunity”— that the parties “irrevocably waive[ ] ... immunity to the full extent permitted by the law[ … While the Act clearly reflects a general public policy of preventing and punishing corporate fraud and other misconduct, Nigeria fails to establish why the Court should refrain from enforcing this international arbitral award

Dong v. Smithsonian Institution

878 F. Supp. 244 · District Court, District of Columbia · Feb 28, 1995

It enjoys absolute governmental immunity in libel suits. Id. It receives a vast amount of federal funding which it then disburses to its various programs. Id. … Clearly, the Smithsonian, as the country’s national museum, “control[s] information of interest to the public.” House Report, supra, at 6274.

United States v. Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Ass'n

167 F. Supp. 45 · District Court, District of Columbia · Oct 16, 1958

The next question is, whether it qualifies under the provisos contained in the Act. … These allegations are clearly within the exception of the Borden case and, therefore, a cause of action is stated in respect to these activities.

Syneeda Lynn Penland v. Raymond Edwin Mabus, Jr.

78 F. Supp. 3d 484 · District Court, District of Columbia · Jan 30, 2015

Penland to the BCNR] was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.” Def. Ex. 7 at 21. Writing to Ms. … Sovereign Immunity Defendants argue that the entire lawsuit is barred by sovereign immunity.

Verduzco v. United States Department of Justice

District Court, District of Columbia · Jun 9, 2026

For starters, she struggles to paint a routine removal of a case from state to federal court as a violation of any constitutional right, let alone a clearly-established right, as needed to establish a prima facie Bivens claim … Yet “misrepresentation” and “deceit” are not on that list of torts, and it is far from clear that federal attorneys qualify as “law enforcement officers” under that proviso.

Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

District Court, District of Columbia · Feb 26, 2009

This argument fails because "the mere fact that records pertain to an individual's activities does not necessarily qualify them for exemption." Id. at 894-95. … The extra burden 5 established by Favish only applies when the requestor asserts government negligence or improper conduct. 541 U.S. at 174.

Owens v. Republic of Sudan

826 F. Supp. 2d 128 · District Court, District of Columbia · Nov 28, 2011

These activities were clearly facilitated by the Sudanese government. … Sept. 20, 2007) (finding that an embassy attack “clearly qualifies as an extrajudicial killing”).

Payne v. Becerra

District Court, District of Columbia · May 11, 2023

It is the plaintiff’s burden to establish that the court has subject-matter jurisdiction. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992). … Because sovereign immunity is a jurisdictional issue, FDIC v.

Murray v. Gilmore

226 F. Supp. 2d 179 · District Court, District of Columbia · Sep 30, 2002

This record clearly establishes that there was merely a reorganization on paper as budgetary constraints and/or shortage of work was due to the hiring of Jones.” Id. at 14. The hearing examiner recommended that Ms. … the very reasons for affording judicial immunity to such officers.

Donahue v. Potter

District Court, District of Columbia · May 20, 2026

“Few doctrines were more solidly established at common law than the immunity of judges from liability for damages for acts committed within their judicial jurisdiction[.]” Pierson v. … Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11 (1991) (holding that “judicial immunity is an immunity from suit, not just from ultimate assessment of damages”); Bailey v. Kay, 296 F. App’x 96, 97 (D.C.

Murray v. Gilmore

231 F. Supp. 2d 82 · District Court, District of Columbia · Oct 30, 2002

This record clearly establishes that there was merely a reorganization on paper as budgetary constraints and/or shortage of work was due to the hiring of Jones.” Id. at 14. The hearing examiner recommended that Ms. … the very reasons for affording judicial immunity to such officers.

Usoyan v. Republic of Turkey

District Court, District of Columbia · Sep 15, 2025

sovereign immunity for any and all of the acts which transpired on May 16, 2017.”). … that this viewpoint would qualify.

Yukos Capital Limited v. Russian Federation

District Court, District of Columbia · Jun 11, 2025

The FSIA “establishes a default rule of foreign sovereign immunity,” id., thereby depriving courts of subject matter jurisdiction in “every action against a foreign sovereign” unless one of the FSIA’s textually enumerated … “exceptions to foreign sovereign immunity” applies.

Trudeau v. Federal Trade Commission

384 F. Supp. 2d 281 · District Court, District of Columbia · Aug 25, 2005

Lack of Jurisdiction To establish the jurisdiction of a federal court over a cause of action against a federal agency, a plaintiff must locate both a waiver of the federal government’s sovereign immunity and some authorization … Finally, Trudeau suggests that the Court should permit discovery to explore whether the press release qualifies as agency action.

Salazar v. District of Columbia

954 F. Supp. 278 · District Court, District of Columbia · Oct 16, 1996

However, as discussed below, the record clearly establishes that NPA Medicaid applications are not processed in a timely manner. 1. … This evidence clearly establishes a “course deliberately pursued by official policymakers,” which has caused a deprivation of Plaintiffs’ rights under federal law. Cf. Carter v.

Robertson v. District of Columbia

District Court, District of Columbia · Aug 16, 2010

immunity. … Although qualified immunity should be resolved “at the earliest possible stage in litigation,” Saucier v.

Orange Middle East and Africa v. Republic of Equatorial Guinea

District Court, District of Columbia · May 18, 2016

When a notice provision is all encompassing, it usually qualifies as a “special arrangement for service” under § 1608(a)(1). … Since the Judge did not include the limiting words in his opinion, they were clearly not important to his analysis.

Sharma v. District of Columbia

791 F. Supp. 2d 207 · District Court, District of Columbia · Jun 17, 2011

As case law establishes, Defendant’s sovereign immunity argument lacks merit. … The D.C. courts have clearly held that the pre-suit notice provision, which is contained in D.C.Code § 12-309, does not constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity. Tucci v.

Schilling v. Pelosi

District Court, District of Columbia · Oct 3, 2022

That begs a question—outside literal speech and debate, what qualifies as immune legislative conduct? … Circuit agreed—in its view, “the process by which a committee takes statements and prepares them for publication clearly qualifie[d] as an activity within the legislative sphere.”

Soeken v. Herman

35 F. Supp. 2d 99 · District Court, District of Columbia · Feb 17, 1999

Unfortunately for Reynolds, however, none of these qualified medical practitioners could establish the requisite nexus between his injury and the workplace environment. … immunity.