21-2019
Bartlett v. Baasiri
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Second Circuit
August Term, 2022
No. 21-2019
ROBERT BARTLETT, TERREL CHARLES BARTLETT, LINDA JONES, SHAWN
BARTLETT, MAXINE E. CROCKETT, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF RICKY LEON CROCKETT, MARVISE L. CROCKETT, TRACIE
ARSIAGA, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT R.
ARSIAGA, SYLVIA MACIAS, GILBERT ARSIAGA, JR., GEORGE ARSIAGA,
MATTHEW ARSIAGA, ANGEL MUNOZ, ROBI ANN GALINDO, PATRICIA
ARSIAGA, ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JEREMY ARSIAGA, CEDRIC
HUNT, STEVEN GREENWOOD, STEVEN W. HILLER, INDIVIDUALLY AND
ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN DUSTIN HILLER, JEREMY
CHURCH, SANDRA HANKINS, INGRID FISHER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF STEVEN SCOTT FISHER, KRISTIN WALKER,
STEVEN T. FISHER, KATHLEEN GRAMKOWSKI, DANIEL CARVILL, MARY
CARVILL, PEGGY CARVILL-LIGUORI, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF FRANK T. CARVILL, PAMELA ADLE-WATTS, JOHN
WATTS, GLORIA NESBITT, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF DEFOREST L. TALBERT, D.J.H., A MINOR, TAWANNA TALBERT
DARRING, LATASHA MARBLE, JAMES TALBERT, MIRANDA PRUITT,
VELINA SANCHEZ, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
MOSES ROCHA, ALOYSIUS SANCHEZ, JR., ROMMEL ROCHA, PHILLIP
SANCHEZ, GLORIA P. REYNOSO, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF YADIR G. REYNOSO, JASMIN REYNOSO, PATRICIA REYNOSO,
JOSE REYNOSO, ASHLEY WELLS SIMPSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF LARRY LLOYD WELLS, CHAD WELLS,
CRYSTAL STEWART, CHASITY WELLS-GEORGE, CANDICE MACHELLA,
BILLY DOAL WELLS, HOPE ELIZABETH VEVERKA, DONNA JEAN HEATH,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID MICHAEL
HEATH, LOLA JEAN MODJESKA, JOHN DAVID HEATH, OLGA LYDIA
GUTIERREZ, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JACOB
DAVID MARTIR, ISMAEL MARTIR, NATHANIEL FOLEY, MICHAEL SCOTT
DEWILDE, STEVEN MORRIS, DANIELLE DECHAINE-MORRIS, NICHOLAS
MORRIS, K.M., A MINOR, MONICA ARIZOLA, ROBERTO AARON
ARIZOLA, ROBERTO ARIZOLA, SR., CECILIA ARIZOLA, DANNY ARIZOLA,
RICARDO ARIZOLA, GREG KLECKER, RAYMOND MONTGOMERY,
PATRICIA MONTGOMERY, TONY WOOD, JOEDI WOOD, ADAM WOOD,
MEGAN WOOD, LISA RAMACI, LISA RAMACI INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF STEVEN VINCENT, ISABELL VINCENT,
CHARLES VINCENT, MARIA VIDAL, TAMARA HASSLER, RICHARD E.
HASSLER, JOANNE SUE HASSLER, SCOTT HUCKFELDT, KATHRYN
HUCKFELDT, ALISHA HUCKFELDT, MATTHEW HUCKFELDT, TIMOTHY
NEWMAN, PADRAIC J. NEWMAN, AMENIA JONAUS, INDIVIDUALLY AND
ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JUDE JONAUS, GERNESSOIT JONAUS,
DAPHNIE JONAUS MARTIN, RICKY JONAUS, MARCKENDY JONAUS,
CLAIRE JONAUS, SHAREN JONAUS MARTIN, MASINA TULIAU, AUDELIA
MORIN, ESTEBAN MORIN, ESTAVAN MORIN, SR., BRIANNA RENEE
NAVEJAS, MARGARITO A. MARTINEZ, AMY LYNN ROBINSON,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JEREMIAH ROBINSON,
FLOYD BURTON ROBINSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF JEREMIAH ROBINSON, JACOB MICHAEL ROBINSON, LUCAS
WILLIAM ROBINSON, JODEE JOHNSON, JAMES HIGGINS, WENDY
COLEMAN, BRIAN RADKE, NOVA RADKE, STEVEN VERNIER, JR.,
CLIFFORD L. SMITH, JR., INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE
OF KEVIN J. SMITH, GEORGIANNA STEPHENS-SMITH, CORENA MARTIN,
ADAM MATTIS, TERRANCE PETERSON, III, PETRA SPIALEK, DAVID G.
CARDINAL, JR., INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
ANTHONY CARDINAL, RICHELLE HECKER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
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BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM F. HECKER, III, VICTORIA HECKER,
W.H., A MINOR, C.H., A MINOR, WILLIAM F. HECKER, JR., NANCY
HECKER, JOHN D. HECKER, ROBERT F. MARIANO, DEBRA MARIANO,
BOBBIE D. MARIANO, VICKIE MICHAY WHITE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN J. WHITE, GLADYS E. REYES
CENTENO, VERONICA LOPEZ REYES, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF JASON LOPEZ REYES, ZORAIMA LOPEZ, JENNIFER LINK,
SHARON JOHNSTON, KENNY LEE, TOM B. LEE, LING P. LEE, DEBORAH
NOBLE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF CHARLES E.
MATHENY, IV, DAVID NOBLE, CHARLES E. MATHENY, III, JUDY
COLLADO, KAIYA COLLADO, JUSTIN WALDECK, TANJA KUHLMEIER,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF DANIEL KUHLMEIER,
ROBERT J. KUHLMEIER, THERESA A. KUHLMEIER, THERESA ANN
KUHLMEIER, EDWARD KUHLMEIER, THOMAS KUHLMEIER, JOHN
KUHLMEIER, ROBERT W. KUHLMEIER, PATRICK FARR, INDIVIDUALLY
AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF CLAY P. FARR, SILVER FARR,
CARROL ALDERETE, ANTHONY ALDERETE, CHAD FARR, RAYANNE
HUNTER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF WESLEY
HUNTER, W.H., A MINOR, T.H., A MINOR, FABERSHA FLYNT LEWIS,
CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY BERSHEFSKY, LORENZO SANDOVAL, JR.,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ISRAEL
DEVORAGARCIA, LORENZO SANDOVAL, JR., ADRIAN SANDOVAL, ROSA
ESTHER SANDOVAL, HENRY J. BANDHOLD, SR., INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF SCOTT BANDHOLD, AFONSO BANDHOLD,
MARIANA BANDHOLD, H. JOSEPH BANDHOLD, DONALD C. BANDHOLD,
JOSHUA P. STEIN, NICOLE B. STEIN, NICOLE B. STEIN, A MINOR, J.S.S., A
MINOR, JESSE P. STEIN, ERIK ROBERTS, E.C.R, A MINOR, ROBIN ROBERTS,
JAMES CRAIG ROBERTS, CARA ROBERTS, COLIN ROBERTS, LUKE
MURPHY, WILLETTE MURPHY, SHANE IRWIN, T.R., A MINOR, HELEN
MARGUERITE IRWIN, NICOLE IRWIN, MARIA GOMEZ, INDIVIDUALLY
AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JOSE GOMEZ, JOHN DANA GREER,
STEPHANIE SANDER, CHRISTOPHER D. GREER, JOSEPH L. GREER, CARL
3
K. GREER, CHRISTOPHER JOYNER, ANNE P. JOYNER, BRIAN
MONTOGMERY, K.K, A MINOR, NECOLE DUNLOW SMITH, MICHAEL R.
MILLS, M.R.M., A MINOR, EDDIE JO PALINSKY, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JERRY A. PALINSKY, JR., JERRY A. PALINSKY,
II, ADINA PALINSKY, JERRY A. PALINSKY, SR., KATHLEEN HOKE, JOEL
PALINSKY, KARALEEN HERB, ERIC BRANDON STONEKING, CARRIE SUE
STONEKING, FAITH RENEE STONEKING, NANETTE SAENZ,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF CARLOS N. SAENZ,
JUAN SAENZ, JOAQINA SAENZ CHORENS, LUZ MARIA ESTRADA-PULIDO,
FRANCES CATHERINE CASTRO, ELVA ESPINOZA, AMANDA VACHO, ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF NATHAN J. VACHO AND ON BEHALF OF
E.V., A MINOR, BAYLI VACHO, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF NATHAN J. VACHO, JOHN VACHO, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF CAROL VACHO, ASHLEY VACHO LESLIE,
RONALD VEVERKA, CAROL POLLEY, DOUGLAS VEVERKA, SANDRA
SOLIDAY, JEANETTE WEST, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF ROBERT H. WEST, SHELBY WEST, DONNA ENGEMAN,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN W.
ENGEMAN, SHANNON SHUMATE, LAUREN SHUMATE, L.S., A MINOR,
NICOLE DICENZO, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
DOUGLAS ANDREW DICENZO, D.D., A MINOR, LARRY DICENZO, KATHY
CRANE, JOHNNY ALLEN BLAIR, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF ROBERT EDWARD BLAIR, CHARLEE BLAIR WEBB, C.L., A
MINOR, ARNE EASTLUND, TINA EASTLUND, SVEN EASTLUND, TAYLOR
EASTLUND, ELIZABETH JO EASTLUND, MATTHEW ADAMSON, R.A, A
MINOR, KATHY ADAMSON, RICHARD ADAMSON, CHRISTOPHER
ADAMSON, JEFFREY ADAMSON, JUSTIN ADAMSON, JAMES SHEPARD,
JOHN P. SKLANEY,, III, KATHY CRABTREE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF DANIEL CRABTREE, M.C., A MINOR, JUDY
ANN CRABTREE, RONALD WAYNE CRABTREE, DEBRA WIGBELS, JUDY
HUENINK, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
BENJAMIN J. SLAVEN, SEAN SLAVEN, NICOLE LANDON, MISTI FISHER,
4
STEVEN J. FRIEDRICH, A.F., A MINOR, PHILIP ALAN DERISE, NORMA
ALICIA CONTRERAS, JONATHAN CONTRERAS, JR., CARLOS CONTRERAS,
CESAR CONTRERAS, HERNAN CONTRERAS, NOEL CONTRERAS,
DANNYEL CONTRERAS, SHARON M. PUGH, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF KENNETH IRVING PUGH, BRITNEY E.
CARTER, ALICIA PEARSON, DANIEL J. EVANS, JUSTIN EVANS, KEVIN
GRAVES, NICHOLAS GENE KOULCHAR, MICHAEL KOULCHAR, SUHEIL
CAMPBELL, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
EDGARDO ZAYAS, A.Z.C., A MINOR, CATHY ANDINO, INDIVIDUALLY
AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF EDWIN A. ANDINO JR., LUIS
JUNIOR PUERTAS, LIDIA SULLIVAN, GABRIELA D. PUERTAS VERGARADONOSO, CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL MELENDEZ, NARCISO MELENDEZ,
CHRISTINA MELENDEZ, LAUREL BARATTIERI, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF GUY BARATTIERI, PATRICIA WHEATLEY,
REBECCA BARATTIERI, NICOLE BARATTIERI, GINA TESNAR, GLORIA L.
MAGANA, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF KENNY
FRANCES STANTON JR., MARIO STANTON, BRANDIE STANTON,
TERRYMARIE STANTON, FRED FRIGO, NANNETTE BRYNE-HAUPT, LYNN
FOREHAND, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF RYAN
HAUPT, LANCE HAUPT, RHONDA HAUPT, TIFANY THOMPSON, SABRINA
CUMBE, WILLIAM WITTE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF KEVIN M. WITTE, MICHAEL MOCK, TAMMY DORSEY, ERIC
PHYE, JAMES GMACHOWSKI, CONSTANCE BRIAN, AMBER HENSLEY,
DAVID W. HAINES, DAWN HAINES, MACKENZIE HAINES, KARAR
ALABSAWI, MICHELLE TAYLOR, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF DAVID G. TAYLOR, JR., J.T., A MINOR, PHYLLIS TAYLOR,
JOHN TAYLOR, BRIAN B. TAYLOR, JUDAS RECENDEZ, TYLER NORAGER,
SHALEE NORAGER, M.N., A MINOR, HARRY RILEY BOCK, JILL ANN
BOCK, MARIAH SIMONEAUX, KOUSAY AL-TAIE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF AHMED AL-TAIE, NAWAL AL-TAIE,
BASHAR AL-TAIE, HATHAL K. TAIE, LAWRENCE KRUGER,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ERIC KRUGER,
5
CAROL KRUGER, C.K., A MINOR, E.K., A MINOR, DOUGLAS KRUGER,
JACKIE FARRAR-FINKEN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF PAUL FINKEN, EMILIE FINKEN, C.F., A MINOR, J.F., A MINOR,
STEPHEN FINKEN, ALAN FINKEN, RICHARD FINKEN, DAVID FINKEN,
MARK FINKEN, JEAN PRUITT, JOAN HENSCHEID, PETER FINKEN, LORI
ANN MCCOY, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
GREGORY MCCOY, L.M., A MINOR, T.M., A MINOR, GLENN MICHAEL
COX, SANGSOON KIM, SEOP STEVE KIM, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JANG HO KIM, MICHELLE KIM, KURTISS
LAMB, FRANCIS L. COTE, NANCY COTE, CHRISTOPHER COTE,
SAMANTHA DUNFORD, MAXIMILLIAN SHROYER, SAMANTHA DUNFORD,
CASEY REUBEN, BREE REUBEN, PATRICK REUBEN, JACKIE STEWART,
MARK MUNNS, CRISTA MUNNS, SHARON DEBRABANDER, DENNIS
DEBRABANDER, NICOLE DEBRABANDER, JOELLA PRATT, HELEN
FRASER, RICHARD FRASER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF DAVID M. FRASER, TRICIA ENGLISH, NATHAN ENGLISH,
N.C.E., A MINOR, A.S.E., A MINOR, TODD DAILY, ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF SHAWN L. ENGLISH, JOSHUA STARKEY, BRENT HINSON,
WILLIAM HINSON, FRAN HINSON, HILARY WESTERBERG, JOHN GIBSON,
STEPHANIE GIBSON WEBSTER, SEAN ELLIOTT, TRAVIS GIBSON, WILLIAM
RONALD LITTLE, BRENDA LITTLE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
WILLIAM RONALD LITTLE, JR., KIRA SIKES, RANDOLPH DELBERT
NANTZ, JOSHUA RYAN NANTZ, CHAQUITA TALBERT, ALOYSIUS
SANCHEZ, SR., VICTORIA M. FOLEY, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF ALEXANDER SCOTT ARREDONDO, GWENDOLYN MORINMARENTES, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF STEVE
MORIN, JR., ALVIS BURNS, KEITH VEVERKA, SUZZETTEE LAWSON,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ISAAC S. LAWSON,
CHASTITY DAWN LAFLIN, ALEXANDER ZAYAS, COLIN HAINES, LORI
ANN MCCORMICK, LORI ANN MCCORMICK INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF CLINTON MCCORMICK, DEBORAH BEAVERS,
DENISE VENNIX, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
6
ALAN R. BLOHM, JEREMY BLOHM, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF CHRIS BLOHM, KIANA BLOHM, JAMES SMITH, MAUK
MAUK, ROBERT VACCARO, JOANNE GUTCHER, CHARLOTTE FREEMAN,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF BRIAN S. FREEMAN,
G.F., A MINOR, I.F., A MINOR, KATHLEEN SNYDER, RANDOLPH
FREEMAN, KATHALEEN FREEMAN, ALBERT SNYDER, RICHARD LEE,
DANNY CHISM, ELIZABETH CHISM, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF JOHNATHAN B. CHISM, VANESSA CHISM, JULIE CHISM,
RUSSELL J. FALTER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
SHAWN P. FALTER, LINDA FALTER, MARJORIE FALTER, RUSSELL C.
FALTER, JOHN SACKETT, JASON SACKETT, MICHAEL LUCAS, MARSHA
NOVAK, DAVID LUCAS, TIM LUCAS, ANDREW LUCAS, SHANNON
MILLICAN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
JOHNATHON M. MILLICAN, PAUL MITCHELL MILLICAN, NOALA FRITZ,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JACOB FRITZ AND
THE ESTATE OF LYLE FRITZ, DANIEL FRITZ, ETHAN FRITZ, BILLY
WALLACE, BILLY WALLACE, STEFANIE WALLACE, AUSTIN WALLACE,
DEVON WALLACE, C.W., A MINOR, EVAN KIRBY, MARCIA KIRBY,
STEVEN KIRBY, JOHNNY WASHBURN, MARVIN THORNSBERRY, CYNTHIA
THORNSBERRY, A.B., A MINOR, TRACY ANDERSON, JEFFREY ANDERSON,
ADAM G. STOUT, ANDREW JEFFREY ANDERSON, ELIZABETH LYNN
ISLAS, ANASTASIA FULLER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF ALEXANDER H. FULLER, A.F., A MINOR, L.R.-W., A MINOR,
HEATH DAMON HOBSON, JODI MICHELLE HOBSON, SAMANTHA
BALSLEY, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL
C. BALSLEY, JODI MICHELLE HOBSON, M.D.H., A MINOR, NICHOLE
GARRIGUS, DEADRA GARRIGUS, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF MICKEL D. GARRIGUS, DAVID GARRIGUS, KYLA
OSTENSON, MATTHEW GARRIGUS, SHAWN RYAN, SHARON Y. DUNN
SMITH, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF TERRENCE
DUNN, DENNIS DUNN, RICHARD LANDECK, VICTORIA LANDECK,
LAVONNA HARPER, MELBA ANNE F. HARRIS, PAUL D. HARRIS,
7
HYUNJUNG GLAWSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE
OF CURTIS E. GLAWSON, YOLANDA BROOKS, CURTIS GLAWSON,, SR.,
KIERRA GLAWSON, SABRINA GLAWSON, ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
CORTEZ GLAWSON, JAZMON REYNA, RYAN SABINISH, R.J.S., A MINOR,
S.J.S., A MINOR, CARRIE THOMPSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF
OF THE ESTATE OF SEAN M. THOMAS, A.T., A MINOR, DANIEL THOMAS,
SR., DIANA THOMAS, DANIEL THOMAS, JR., KELLY GILLIS, MELINDA
FLICK, ANN CHRISTOPHER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF KWESI CHRISTOPHER, NANCY FUENTES, INDIVIDUALLY AND
ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF DANIEL A. FUENTES, ARMANDO
FUENTES, JULIO FUENTES, TATYANA FUENTES, EMMA MCGARRY, D.J.F.,
A MINOR, JOHN KIRBY, MICHAEL MURPHY-SWEET, ELIZABETH MURPHY-SWEET, ANONA GONELLI, LINDSAY YOUNG, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF BRETT A. WALTON, LEASA DOLLAR,
EUGENE DELOZIER, MICHELLE KLEMENSBERG, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF LARRY R. BOWMAN, SCOTT LILLEY, FRANK
LILLEY, JOLENE LILLEY, MATTHEW LILLEY, AVA TOMSON,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF LUCAS V.
STARCEVICH, RICHARD TOMSON, GLENDA STARCEVICH, ARIANA
STARCEVICH, TRENTON STARCEVICH, SAMANTHA TOMSON, ANDREW
TOMSON, JARED S. STEVENS, S.W., A MINOR, BRADLEY STARCEVICH,
SUSAN MARIA DOSKOCIL HICKS, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
THE ESTATE OF GLENN DALE HICKS, JR., GLENN DALE HICKS, JR.,
DAVID JAMES HICKS, JOHN CHRISTOPHER HICKS, S.L.H., A MINOR,
KAREN FUNCHEON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE
OF ALEXANDER J. FUNCHEON, ROBERT FUNCHEON, DWIGHT MARTIN,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JAY E. MARTIN,
DOVE DEANNA ADAMS, RAVEN ADAMS, LARK ADAMS, HOLLY
BURSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JEROME
POTTER, NANCY UMBRELL, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF COLBY J. UMBRELL, MARK UMBRELL, CASEY BOEHMER,
JEREMY D. SMITH, DANIEL DIXON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF
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THE ESTATE OF ILENE DIXON AND THE ESTATE OF ROBERT J. DIXON,
JESSICA HUBBARD, ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT J. DIXON,
M.R., A MINOR, L.R., A MINOR, DAVID DIXON, DANIEL AUSTIN DIXON,
GRETCHEN LANG, REBECCA J. OLIVER, DANIEL C. OLIVER, KIMBERLEE
AUSTIN-OLIVER, TIFFANY M. LITTLE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF
OF THE ESTATE OF KYLE A. LITTLE, K.L., A MINOR, SHELLEY ANN
SMITH, DAKOTA SMITH-LIZOTTE, KIMBERLEE AUSTIN-OLIVER, TIFFANY
M. LITTLE, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF KYLE A.
LITTLE, K.L., A MINOR, SHELLEY ANN SMITH, DAKOTA SMITH-LIZOTTE,
SHYANNE SMITH-LIZOTTE, ERIN LEE DRUCTOR, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF BLAKE STEPHENS, TRENT STEPHENS,
KATHLEEN STEPHENS, DEREK STEPHENS, RHETT STEPHENS, SUMMER
STEPHENS, BRITTANI HOBSON, CYNTHIA CONNER, WILLIAM FARRAR,
SR., INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM
FARRAR, JOSHUA BROOKS, JOYCE BROOKS, DANIEL TYLER BROOKS,
DELILAH BROWN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF
SCOTT J. BROWN, TONYA K. DRESSLER, ARDITH CECIL DRESSLER,
MELISSA DRESSLER, TANYA SUZZETTE DRESSLER, DANIEL DRESSLER,
ELIZABETH MASTERSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE
OF JOSHUA D. BROWN, MARIAN BROWN, WAYNE BROWN, DANIELLE
SWEET, A.B., A MINOR, G.B., A MINOR, DONNA KUGLICS, INDIVIDUALLY
AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF MATTHEW J. KUGLICS, LES
KUGLICIS, EMILY ADAMS, DEREK GAJDOS, TAMMY DENBOER,
BRANDEAUX CAMPBELL, RYAN WILSON, JAMI LIN WILSON, MATTHEW
LAMMERS, ALICIA LAMMERS, BARBARA LAMMERS, GARY LAMMERS,
STACY PATE, ANGEL GOMEZ, DENISE JACKSON, SCOTT HOOD, FLORA
HOOD, DIXIE FLAGG, STEPHANIE HOOD, CHEYENNE FLAGG, WILLIAM
PARKER, MEGHAN PARKER-CROCKETT, ANDREW MOORES, SHEILA
TRACY, INDIVIDUALLY AND BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JACOB TRACY,
DONALD TRACY, NICHOLE SWEENEY, CHRISTINA SHERIDAN, MATTHEW
BENSON, MELISSA BENSON, C.B., A MINOR, B.B., A MINOR, DANIEL P.
BENSON, CAROL BENSON, DANIEL R. BENSON, RAYMOND NIGEL
9
SPENCER, JR., SYLVIA JOHNSON SPENCER, MICHAEL DEAN MOODY,
INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL DEAN
MOODY, JR., CONNIE MOODY, KEDRICK DANTE MOODY, DREW
EDWARDS, DONIELLE EDWARDS, ARIFAH HARDY, T.C., A MINOR,
AUNDRA CRAIG, JOYCE CRAIG, DEBRA COOK-RUSSELL, NASHIMA
WILLIAMS CRAIG, JONATHAN CRAIG, ANDRE BROWN, MICHAEL COOK,
VALENCIA COOK, KATHERINE M. CROW, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM J. CROW, K.A.C., A MINOR,
CANDACE CATHRYN HUDSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF KATHRYN ANN MONDINI, K.E.C, A MINOR, JOHN TAYLOR,
CARROL ALDERETE, TRACYANDERSON, J.J., R.J.S., LORI ANN
MCCORMICK, TINA EASTLUND, NANETTE SAENZ, BARBARAFARLEY,
JACKIE MERK HLASTAN, KATHRYN HUCKFELDT, RANDOLPH FREEMAN,
MAXINE E.CROCKETT, CAMERON FARLEY, JUAN SAENZ, THOMAS
SMITH, JENNIFER RENEE YORK, BOONCHOB PRUDHOME, STEPHANIE
MCCULLEY, DREW EDWARDS, RHONDA KEMPER, DANIEL C. OLIVER,
CECILIA ARIZOLA, JACOB MICHAEL ROBINSON, MICHELLE TAYLOR,
T.M.(A MINOR), DEREK STEPHENS, BRUCE LUKOW, KATHY KUGLER,
STEPHANIE HOOD, M.R.(A MINOR), TONYA FREEMAN, MICHELLE
BENAVIDEZ, EDWARD KUHLMEIER, JUSTIN ADAMSON, NICHOLE
LOHRIG, ANTHONY ALDERETE, NAWAL ALTAIE, WILLIAM WITTE,
ANNE P. JOYNER, CLIFFORD VAUGHN, A.F.(A MINOR), LAUREN
SHUMATE, TAWANNA TALBERT DARRING, DANIEL BENAVIDEZ, SKYLAR
HAKE, MICHAEL LUKOW, CHARLEE BLAIR WEBB, HENRY J. BANDHOLD,
SR, JEFFREY D. PRICE, MARC STEARNS, BRANDON ARNOLD, ADAM
WOOD, CHRISTOPHER LEVI, I.W., NICHOLAS GENE KOULCHAR, WAYNE
BROWN, C.S.(A MINOR), B.B., GREG KLECKER, GLENN DALE HICKS, SR,
ROBERT FUNCHEON, NANCY UMBRELL, COLLEEN CZAPLICKI, JOAQINA
SAENZ CHORENS, DANIELCARVILL, ALOYSIUS SANCHEZ, SR, AVA
TOMSON, NATHANIEL FOLEY, DONNA JEAN HEATH,AUDELIA MORIN,
KATRINA COE, G.H., PHILIP ALAN DERISE, MARLYNN GONZALES,
JOSHUADENMAN, CORY SMITH, ANGELA M. LAIRD, MEGAN WOOD,
10
L.W., MATTHEW CRAIG, JUDY ANN CRABTREE, ANDREW LUKOW,
DARLENE SHELTON, WESLEY WILLIAMSON, LUKE MURPHY, RAYMOND
NIGEL SPENCER, SR., DEADRA GARRIGUS, KATHRYN HEAD, DENISE
VENNIX, K.A.C, LARRY DICENZO, JOYCE CRAIG, CESAR CONTRERAS,
EMILY LEVI, JOEDI WOOD, JOSEPH LUKOW, CANA HICKMAN, ROBIN
ROBERTS, SARAH DUDEK, S.S., SEAN ELLIOTT, GEORGIANNA
STEPHENSSMITH, JORDAN M. LAIRD, CHRISTOPHER BOUTEN, PATRICK
WARD, MELISSA DRESSLER, TATYANA FUENTES, TANJA KUHLMEIER,
ERIC PHYE, GLORIA P REYNOSO, JOAN HENSCHEID, NICHOLAS MORRIS,
STEVEN J. FRIEDRICH, G.L., MATTHEW MENKE, ROBERT KUGLER,
TERREL CHARLES BARTLETT, CATHY ANDINO, ADAM MATTIS, PHYLLIS
TAYLOR, J.M.H., AMBER HABSIEGER, ARIANA STARCEVICH, K.A.,
HEATH DAMON HOBSON, S.L.H., BRENT HINSON, TIMOTHY TIFFNER,
E.R., KIMBERLEE AUSTINOLIVER, MARK HURST, LISA RAMACI, KELLY
GILLIS, NORMA ALICIA CONTRERAS, M.B.S., J.L.(A MINOR), JOSEPH T.
MILLER, JEREMY D. SMITH, DONALD MAYES, ALAN BURKS, MEGAN
PEOPLE, JOHN RICHARD TULLY, II, BRETT FARLEY, CHRISTOPHER
JOYNER, ANGELICA ANDRADE, MATTHEW GARRIGUS, STEVEN T.
FISHER, JENNIFER ROOSE, CASSANDRA BAILEY, ERIC NEIBERGER,
SHAREN JONAUS MARTIN, TRENT STEPHENS, LEE WOLFER, NICHOLAS
PROWSE, THERESA DAVIS, KAIYA COLLADO, TABITHA MCCOY, JUSTIN
WALDECK, JONI ARIEL REEVES LITTLE, TAMMY DORSEY, JODEE
JOHNSON, ROBERTO ARIZOLA, SR, NATHAN ENGLISH, ALISON BURKS
MCRUIZ, CYNTHIA DELGADO, ANDREW BRADLEY, KEDRICK DANTE
MOODY, DON JASON STONE, DONNA LEWIS, ANDY POOL, JERRY L.
MYERS, JEFFREY C. MANN, GEORGE ARSIAGA, JOHN STEARNS, BRIDGET
JUNEAU, BREANNA LYNN GASPER, DONNA FARLEY, AUSTIN WALLACE,
BRIAN T. SHELTON, AFONSO BANDHOLD, MARY NEIBERGER, NANCY
HECKER, KIRA SIKES, RICHARD TOMSON, MACKENZIE HAINES,
CHRISTOPHER BOGART, LUZ MARIA ESTRADAPULIDO, JESSICA H.
WILLIAMS, NICHOLAS BAUMHOER, SANDRA HANKINS, ESTEBAN
MORIN, MICHAEL KOULCHAR, GINA TESNAR, LINDSAY YOUNG,
11
REBECCA J. OLIVER, CHARLES B. GREGSTON, JAMES SMITH, JACKIE
FARRARFINKEN, SABRINA GLAWSON, MICHAEL SCOTT DEWILDE,
SHANNON SHUMATE, JOHN D HECKER, LILLIAN HURST, DAVID WAYNE
HARTLEY, RYAN WILSON, LOLA JEAN MODJESKA, BEVERLEY WOLFER,
DENICE YORK, FABERSHA FLYNT LEWIS, KERI HAKE, PAMELA
ADLEWATTS, ROBI ANN GALINDO, BRANDIE STANTON, KURTISS LAMB,
BRYAN S. SHELTON, M.R.M, JOHNNY JAVIER MILES, JR, JACQUELINE A.
SMITH, MELISSA BENSON, MARK MUNNS, CARL K. GREER, CARRIE
THOMPSON, TOM B. LEE, RICHARD FRASER, JOANNE SUE HASSLER,
ANDREW LUCAS, HUNTER L. LAIRD, JONATHAN CONTRERAS, SR,
MARIA ALVAREZ, ALEXANDER ZAYAS, NANNETTE BRYNEHAUPT,
CONNIE HADDOCK, JENNIFER LINK, DOVE DEANNA ADAMS,
CHARLOTTE FREEMAN, HOLLY BURSON, CHRISTOPHER WATTS,
NATALIA WHITE, ZACHARY HAKE, T.S. (A MINOR), SEAN HARRINGTON,
TAMARA RUNZEL, SHYANNE SMITHLIZOTTE, K.B., SUZZETTEE LAWSON,
CEDRIC HUNT, E.C.R., GLADYS E. REYES CENTENO, LAVONNA HARPER,
DAWN HAINES, ROBERT NEIBERGER, JENNIFER MORMAN, HARRY RILEY
BOCK, CARLOS CONTRERAS, DEVON WALLACE, TIFFANY M. LITTLE,
MARY JANE VANDEGRIFT(INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE
ESTATE OF MATTHEW R. VANDEGRIFT), SAMANTHA DUNFORD,
CHRISTINA MELENDEZ, CALVIN CANINE, LES KUGLICIS, WAYNE
NEWBY, REBECCA BARATTIERI, KYLA OSTENSON, FRANCES CATHERINE
CASTRO, JUDY HOFFMAN, BRENDA LITTLE, PAULA MENKE, CONNIE
MOODY, DEBRA WIGBELS, JEAN DAMMANN, DONNA ENGEMAN,
STEPHANIE KIDDER, SYLVIA JOHNSON SPENCER, DEBORAH SMITH,
DEBRA COOKRUSSELL, MICHAEL HABSIEGER, H. JOSEPH BANDHOLD,
I.F., MEGAN MAUK, ESTAVAN MORIN, SR, J.T.B., RAYANNE HUNTER,
DANIEL BENAVIDEZ, JR, HERNAN CONTRERAS, TAYLOR EASTLUND,
CHRISTINA SMITH, MICHEAL PAUL ALLEN SHELSWELL, J.M., JUDY
COLLADO, DIXIE FLAGG, CHASTITY DAWN LAFLIN, ASHLEY VACHO
LESLIE, RICKY JONAUS, M.R.M., TANYA EVRARD, COLIN HAINES,
LUCAS WILLIAM ROBINSON, JOHN RICHARD TULLY, MARK UMBRELL,
12
P.A., JEAN PRUITT, VERONICA PENA ANDRADE, RICHARD LEE, CAROL
BENSON, ROBERTO AARON ARIZOLA, TIMOTHY NEWMAN, COLIN
ROBERTS, ROBERTO ANDRADE, SR., SVEN EASTLUND, SABRINA
CHAPMAN, SHANE IRWIN, SCOTT LILLEY, CRYSTAL TUTWILER, SUHEIL
CAMPBELL, DOUGLAS KRUGER, DAVID FINKEN, MARIANA BANDHOLD,
PETRA SPIALEK, VELINA SANCHEZ, DANIEL THOMAS, SR, PATRICIA
MONTGOMERY, JAMES VAUGHN, A.L.R., K.K, DAVID C. IVERSON,
KAYTRINA JACKSON, L.R., N.C.E., T.C., DIANNE O'NEILL, WILLIAM
PARKER, ETHAN FRITZ, EDNA LUZ BURGOS, WILLIAM FARRAR,SR.,
BRANDEAUX CAMPBELL, CHRISTINA SHERIDAN, JERRY A. PALINSKY, SR,
STEVE WADLEIGH, KATHLEEN HOKE, MICHELLE WEST, TIFANY
THOMPSON, JESSECA LYN TSOSIE, KEVIN GRAVES, JUDAS RECENDEZ,
CORENA MARTIN, DANIEL FRITZ, MIRANDA PRUITT, JAMES KINSEY,
KEMELY PICKETT, JARRETT WARD, D.A.S., MARY CARVILL, JEFFREY
ANDERSON, VICTOR RAY WISE II, BILLY DOAL WELLS, NICOLE
BARATTIERI, NICHOLE GARRIGUS, VICTORIA LANDECK, DONNA
KUGLICS, CHRISTOPHER SONGER, JESSALYN HOLT, VALENCIA COOK,
LING P. LEE, ROSEMARIE ALFONSO, DANIEL DRESSLER, LARK ADAMS,
RICHARD E. HASSLER, ERIK ROBERTS, PATRICIA WHEATLEY, A.M.H.,
MARGARITA ARISTIZABAL, THERESA HART, MARY JANE
VANDEGRIFT(INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN
VANDEGRIFT), DANIEL MENKE, JOSEPH L. GREER, SHELLEY ANN CASEY,
CHRISTOPHER MILLER, RENE POOL, JARED S. STEVENS, KENNY LEE,
A.Z.C., MELINDA FLICK, JOHN GIBSON, OLGA LYDIA GUTIERREZ, FRED
FRIGO, NICOLE A. KAPLAN, REBECCA L. SAMTENFINCH, TAMMY
VANDERWAAL, TYLER NORAGER, BRITNEY E. CARTER, DAVID JAMES
HICKS, SHANNON MILLICAN, R.A., CARLLIE PAUL, THEODORE LESTER,
LORI ANN MCCOY, K.L., BOBBIE D. MARIANO, C.L.(A MINOR),
ANASTASIA FULLER, RICHARD FINKEN, JOSHUA SCHICHTL, KIERRA
GLAWSON, FAITH RENEESTONEKING, PATRICIA REYNOSO, BRIANNA
RENEE NAVEJAS, POLOKA AIETI, DONIELLE EDWARDS, SHELBY WEST,
VICTORIA M. FOLEY, RUSSEL HICKS, JR., ELVA ESPINOZA, CHAD FARR,
13
CRISTA MUNNS, DAVID ARNOLD, ANTHONY HUDSON, JOSEPH HELTON,
SR., JOHN D. LAMIE, GEORGE D. WHITE, C.F., BASHAR ALTAIE,
MATTHEW LILLEY, VIVIAN PICKETT, BILLY JOHNSON, CARA ROBERTS,
C.B., CHRIS FARLEY, JESSICA HUBBARD, RANDALL GEIGER, ROBERT
CANINE, JOHN SACKETT, J.T., LEASA DOLLAR, JOHN MCCULLEY,
CANDICE MACHELLA, MATTHEW LAMMERS, WILLIAM RONALD LITTLE,
CASSIE COLLINS, CHRISTOPHER COTE, NICOLE LANDON, JOSHUA P.
STEIN, CARRIE SUE STONEKING, URSULA ANN JOSHUA, MATTHEW
BENSON, JAMES CANINE, CHRISTINA BIEDERMAN, MARIO STANTON,
VERONICA DENISSE ANDRADE, BILLY WALLACE, DIANA THOMAS,
MONICA ARIZOLA, DAKOTA SMITHLIZOTTE, LEAANN WADLEIGH,
LESLIE K. REEVESHARDCASTLE, A.S.E., TONY GONZALEZ, JENNIFER
LYNN HUNT, SLADE VICTOR TULLY, DOUGLAS VEVERKA, THOMAS
KUHLMEIER, JOHN VACHO, KIMBERLY VESEY, ELIZABETH CHISM, AVA
LANETTE BRADLEY, HILARY WESTERBERG, M.C., DEBORAH BEAVERS,
MAX W. HURST, TANYA SUZZETTE DRESSLER, JAMIE BARNES, PEGGY
CARVILLLIGUORI, JEFFREY ADAMSON, SAMANTHA BALSLEY, ELIZABETH
JO EASTLUND, ANGEL MAYES, ALOYSIUS SANCHEZ, JR, JUDITH TIFFNER,
T.R., HOPE ELIZABETH VEVERKA, A.S., ARIFAH HARDY, JUSTIN EVANS,
GILBERT ARSIAGA, JR, SELICIA FIELD, A.B.(A MINOR), FRANK LILLEY,
JEANNINE VAUGHN, NOEL CONTRERAS, ADINA PALINSKY, BRIAN
MONTOGMERY, EMANUELA FLOREXIL, STEPHEN FINKEN, RUSSELL J.
FALTER, CASEY REUBEN, M.A.H., STEVEN GREENWOOD, SEOP KIM,
PAUL MITCHELL MILLICAN, JAMES TALBERT, GEORGE J. WHITE, ANITA
BAKER, KARALEEN HERB, PAM MARION, KELLI D. HAKE, BRIAN G.
TAYLOR, MATTHEW ARSIAGA, DONALD C. BANDHOLD, JEANNE RHEA
MCMANUS, DANIEL PRICE, MARK FINKEN, K.M., VICKIE MICHAY
WHITE, REBEKAH SCOTT, ERIC BILLITER, MICHAEL J. MILLER, RICHELLE
HECKER, STEVEN KIRBY, MARLEN PICKETT, SHAYLYN C. REECE, GLORIA
L. MAGANA, ROMMEL ROCHA, T.H., MARILYN LOUISE TULLY, TAMARA
HASSLER, DAVID DIXON, BRITTANI HOBSON, HELEN FRASER, JOHN
DAVID HEATH, JOHN KUHLMEIER, P.H., KIMBERLY SONGER, MATTHEW
14
FIESER, BRIAN COKE, DEREK ALLEN HOLLCROFT, ADAM MAGERS, JOYCE
BROOKS, MARICEL MURRAY, SEBASTIAN NIUMAN, SAMANTHA TUCKER,
JOSHUA P.G. WOLD, ANDREW TOMSON, JACOB BAUER, JOHNNY JAVIER
MILES, SR, CLAIRE JONAUS, DANNYEL CONTRERAS, STEPHANIE C.
SANDER, ROBERT WHITE, CHRISTOPHER D. GREER, DANNY CHISM,
MICHAEL DEAN MOODY, ROBERT VACCARO, SHALEE NORAGER,
MICHAEL LUCAS, ARDELL THOMSEN, TIMOTHY W. ELLEDGE, ARNE
EASTLUND, DAVID W. HAINES, MELBA ANNE F. HARRIS, JESSE P. STEIN,
RALPH THOMSEN, MICHAEL WEATHERLY, SUSAN MARIA DOSKOCIL
HICKS, VERONICA LOPEZ REYES, AUNDRA CRAIG, SANDRA SOLIDAY,
ANDREW MOORES, L.R.W., RONALD SLOAN, KATHLEEN SNYDER,
HATHAL K. TAIE, SHEILA TRACY, ROBERT F. MARIANO, JUDY HUENINK,
MICHAEL SMITH, DENNIS DUNN, CYNTHIA CONNER, IMO AIETI,
CONSTANCE BRIAN, JOHN O'NEILL, DAVID KAPLAN, ELENA SHAW,
G.B.(A MINOR), ANGELA ALVAREZ, AMI NEIBERGER, JOLENE LILLEY,
JENNIE L. MORIN, JONATHAN CRAIG, ANDRE BROWN, JAMES DRESSLER,
KATHY ADAMSON, RHETT MURPHY, MICHAEL R. MILLS, CAROL
POLLEY, CYNTHIA THORNSBERRY, ALAN FINKEN, CELESTE YANTIS,
KRISTIN WHITE, JASON ROBINSON, JODI MICHELLE HOBSON, SCOTT
HOOD, SHAULA SHAFFER, DANIEL J. EVANS, C.W., MARION CRIMENS,
GABRIELA D. PUERTAS VERGARADONOSO, DONALD TRACY, DONALD
FIELD, CHRISTOPHER GOLEMBE, ANGELICA FIELD, LANI D. BOGART,
FRANK L. CONVERSE, RUSSELL C. FALTER, MARVISE L. CROCKETT, JEAN
MARIANO, SENOVIA FIELD, JESSICA CABOT, LORENZO SANDOVAL, JR,
EUGENE DELOZIER, SHARON JOHNSTON, STACY PATE, SHILYN JACKSON,
VICTORIA HECKER, MARIO BOWEN, SETH TIFFNER, JOHN P. SKLANEY,
III, JOELLA PRATT, PRESTON SHANE REECE, JEREMY BAUER, DAVID G.
CARDINAL, JR, JEREMY CHURCH, LAUREL BARATTIERI, EDDIE JO
PALINSKY, CHEYENNE FLAGG, JOEL PALINSKY, S.J.S., BRENDA CHAND,
SAMANTHA TOMSON, MICHELLE KIM, JERRY A. PALINSKY, II, LATASHA
MARBLE, PHILLIP SANCHEZ, LUIS GARZA, CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL
MELENDEZ, JOHN DANA GREER, PADRAIC J. NEWMAN, ALICIA
15
PEARSON, LINDA GIBSON, CHRISTOPHER ADAMSON, ELIZABETH
MASTERSON, GREGORY BAUER, M.N., KATHY CRABTREE, J.R., EVAN D.
BOGART, MAXIMILLIAN SHROYER, CHASITY WELLSGEORGE, MICHELLE
KLEMENSBERG, JOHNNY WASHBURN, G.F., ISABELL VINCENT,
MICHAELMURPHYSWEET, MARGARITO A. MARTINEZ, JR, STEFANIE
WALLACE, NATHAN NEWBY, VANESSA CHISM, ZORAIMA LOPEZ, SUSAN
ARNOLD, EMILIE FINKEN, VICKIE MCHONE, JOSHUA TIFFNER,
MATTHEW HUCKFELDT, JAYDEAN HAMILTON, MARIAH SIMONEAUX,
SHARON M. PUGH, DONNIE MARION, JAMES CRAIG ROBERTS, AMBER
HENSLEY, AMENIA JONAUS, MELISSA DOHENY, SHELLEY ANN SMITH,
NOEL S. FARLEY, TAMMY KINNEY, GLORIA NESBITT, KIMBERLY MILLER,
SEAN SLAVEN, ERIC BRANDON STONEKING, JULIE CHISM, DWIGHT
MARTIN, KATHY CRANE, RONALD VEVERKA, TRAVIS GIBSON, NOALA
FRITZ, MATTHEW L. MERGELE, LAWRENCE KRUGER, SHARON Y. DUNN
SMITH, JOSE REYNOSO, BRADLEY STARCEVICH, DANIEL P. BENSON,
KEITH VEVERKA, PATRICIA SMITH, E.W., SHIRLEY STEARNS, ADAM G.
STOUT, ARMANDO FUENTES, RONALD WAYNE CRABTREE, SANDRA
VALENCIA, KAREN FUNCHEON, ISMAEL MARTIR, E.K., BRYANT
BEARFIELD, WILLIAM J. LEE, MARVIN THORNSBERRY, ANN
CHRISTOPHER, CHRISTOPHER DAVID, TAUSOLO AIETI, BENJAMIN
DANIEL CARRINGTON, NANCY COTE, JANET JONES, MERLESE PICKETT,
NICOLE IRWIN, AMANDA VACHO, RICHARD CASEY, PERRY WHITE,
SHARON DEBRABANDER, ADRIAN SANDOVAL, JAMI LIN WILSON,
HYUNJUNG GLAWSON, LINDA FALTER, KARAR ALABSAWI, JASON
SACKETT, ROADY LANDTISER, JEREMY BLOHM, PETER FINKEN,
TERRANCE PETERSON, III, ANGELINE JACKSON, ERIC LEVI, FRANCES
ROBINSON, RYAN SABINISH, SHELBY WHITE, ASHLEY GUDRIDGE
HOUPPERT, JOSHUA BROOKS, MICHAEL COOK, NICHOLE SWEENEY,
SARAH CROSBY, JAMES SHEPARD, STEPHANIE JUNEAU, ROBERT W.
KUHLMEIER, GARY LAMMERS, LINDA JONES, SHAWN BARTLETT,
TEMIKA SWINTON, JOHN DAGGETT, LYNN FOREHAND, JANET L. RIOS,
MARK E. THOMSEN, LAUREN NIQUETTE, JOEL HERNANDEZ, VICTORIA
16
HERNANDEZ, ATHENA HALL, MATTHEW C. BEATTY, ANDREW
CHARLES MAJOR, H.K., KIERSTEN HALL, JERRIN MATTHEW OGDEN,
RONALD ALLDRIDGE, BROOKE KENNEY, K.R.G., TODD ALLDRIDGE,
RENE GUTEL, ABIGAIL HALL, JOANN ALLDRIDGE, ANDREW JAMES
RAYMOND, KANDI DANIELLE WHITESIDE, THOMAS NIQUETTE, A.M.M.,
ANA M. GOMEZ, RANDALL KLINGENSMITH, SHARON SMITHEY
WHITESIDE, KAITLYN ADAMS, ANGELA M. GARCIA, RYAN BOWMAN,
MICHAEL PASCO, ANDREW HALL, DANIEL KENNEY, CHRISTOPHER
WHITESIDE, SEAN M. NIQUETTE, CHRISTOPHER SATTERFIELD, GRANT H.
VON LETKEMANN, II, ASHLEY MEIKEL MAJOR, BRIAN CLARK
ALLDRIDGE, SHERYL ANN CHEN, TARA HUTCHINSON, RANDI JEAN
MARTZ, J.K., K.M.G., M.J.H., STEPHEN W. EVANS, JACKSON WILEY
WHITESIDE, TYLER NICHOLAS OGDEN, M.T.W., RICHARD HEDGECOCK,
II, MATTHEW WHITESIDE, MACKENZIE G. HALL, DIANNA ALLDRIDGE,
MARY NIQUETTE, MARK A. HALL, GARY DOUGLAS FISHBECK, TONI
ATTANASIO,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
DR. MUHAMMAD BAASIRI,
Movant-Appellant,
JAMMAL TRUST BANK SAL,
Defendant-Appellant.
On Appeal from a Judgment of the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of New York.
ARGUED: MARCH 2, 2023
17
DECIDED: AUGUST 24, 2023
Before: JACOBS, PARK, and NARDINI, Circuit Judges.
A group of American victims of terrorist attacks in Iraq sued
several Lebanese banks for aiding and abetting the Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah in carrying out those attacks. One of the banks,
Jammal Trust Bank (JTB), was later designated a terrorist organization
by the U.S. Treasury Department, sending it into liquidation and
prompting Lebanon’s central bank to acquire its assets. JTB moved to
dismiss the suit against it on the ground that it now possessed foreign
sovereign immunity. The United States District Court for the Eastern
District of New York (Carol Bagley Amon, Judge) denied the motion
on the ground that a defendant is entitled to foreign sovereign
immunity only if it possesses such immunity at the time suit is filed.
We hold that immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,
28 U.S.C. § 1604, may attach when a defendant becomes an
instrumentality of a foreign sovereign after a suit is filed. We
therefore VACATE and REMAND for a determination of whether JTB
is such an instrumentality.
MICHAEL RADINE (Gary M. Osen, Dina
Gielchinsky, and Aaron Schlanger, on the
brief), Osen LLC, Hackensack, NJ, for
Plaintiffs-Appellees.
MARK W. DELAQUIL (David B. Rivkin, Jr.,
Elizabeth Price Foley, and Kendall E.
Wangsgard, on the brief), Baker &
18
Hostetler LLP, Washington, DC, for
Movant-Appellant and Defendant-Appellant.
Lewis S. Yelin, Attorney, Appellate Staff,
Civil Division, United States Department of
Justice, Washington, DC (Richard C. Visek,
Acting Legal Adviser, Department of State;
Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy
Assistant Attorney General; Breon Peace,
United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of New York; Sharon Swingle,
Attorney, Civil Division, United States
Department of Justice, Washington, DC, on
the brief), for Amicus Curiae United States of
America.
Jay S. Auslander (Natalie Shkolnik, Michael
Van Riper, on the brief), Wilk Auslander
LLP, New York, NY, for Amicus Curiae
Professor Joseph W. Dellapenna.
WILLIAM J. NARDINI, Circuit Judge:
The plaintiffs in this case are American service members who
were wounded, and the relatives of service members who were killed
or wounded, in terrorist attacks carried out in Iraq from 2004 to 2011
by proxies of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. In 2019, victims
19
and their family members sued several Lebanese banks, alleging that
the banks aided and abetted the attacks by laundering money for
Hezbollah.
After the plaintiffs filed suit, the United States Department of
the Treasury labelled one of those banks, Jammal Trust Bank (JTB), a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist. That designation prompted
the Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, to liquidate JTB and
acquire its assets. JTB then moved to dismiss the case against it, on
the ground that it was now entitled to sovereign immunity as an
instrumentality of Lebanon. The district court denied the motion,
holding that a defendant is entitled to foreign sovereign immunity
only if it possesses such immunity at the time suit is filed. JTB
appealed. We hold that immunity under the Foreign Sovereign
Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1604, may attach when a defendant
becomes an instrumentality of a foreign sovereign after a suit is filed.
20
We therefore vacate the district court’s decision and remand for
determination of whether JTB is such an instrumentality.
I. Background
Between 2004 and 2011, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah
armed and trained numerous proxy groups in Iraq with increasingly
sophisticated roadside bombs, grenades, and rockets, which those
groups used to kill and injure thousands of American soldiers.
Hezbollah, which is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,
allegedly coordinated the attacks with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, which supplied much of the weaponry.
On January 1, 2019, a group of American victims and their
relatives sued eleven Lebanese banks, including JTB, in the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Carol
Bagley Amon, Judge) for allegedly laundering money for Hezbollah.
They brought their claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 18 U.S.C.
§ 2333(a) and (d), as amended by the Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act,
Pub. L. No. 114-222, 130 Stat. 852 (2016), which
21
authorizes suits against those who aid and abet acts of terrorism. The
plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on August 2, 2019.
On August 29, 2019, the United States Department of the
Treasury named JTB a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The
Treasury Department accused JTB of “brazenly enabling”
Hezbollah’s financial activities and posing a “direct threat to the
integrity of the Lebanese financial system.” Joint App’x at 881.
That designation ended things for JTB. Shut out of the dollar
system, the bank was unable to trade with many of its counterparties
or to carry out other business denominated in dollars. In September,
the Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, responded by freezing
JTB’s deposits and liquidating its operations. JTB is now undergoing
liquidation under Lebanese law. Movant-Appellant Dr. Muhammad
Baasiri is the central bank’s liquidator.
After the Banque du Liban took over, JTB and Baasiri, acting
separately from the other defendants, moved for (1) substitution of
22
Baasiri for JTB or, in the alternative, intervention by Baasiri, and
(2) dismissal, based on (a) Baasiri’s asserted sovereign immunity,
(b) international comity, or (c) lack of redressability as to JTB.
The district court granted Baasiri’s motion to intervene but
denied the motion to substitute and the motion to dismiss. The court
concluded that JTB could not raise sovereign immunity as a defense
because the liquidation process began only after the plaintiffs brought
their suit. It rested that conclusion on the Supreme Court’s decision
in Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson, 538 U.S. 468 (2003), which it read to hold
that “instrumentality status [must] be determined at the time suit is
filed.” Special App’x at 16 (quoting Dole Food,
538 U.S. at 478). JTB
and Baasiri appealed. After oral argument, we solicited the views of
the United States State Department, which submitted an amicus brief.
II. Discussion
The decisive issue in this appeal is whether JTB may raise a
defense of immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
(FSIA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602–1611, when it alleges that immunity arose
23
after suit was filed. 1 We review the district court’s resolution of this
question of law de novo. A&B Alternative Mktg. Inc. v. Int’l Quality Fruit
Inc., 35 F.4th 913, 915 (2d Cir. 2022); Rukoro v. Fed. Republic of Germany,
976 F.3d 218, 223 (2d Cir. 2020).
To determine the effect of the FSIA, one must know something
of the system that came before it. We begin, therefore, as almost all
modern discussions of foreign sovereign immunity do, with The
Schooner Exchange v. McFaddon, 7 Cranch 116 (1812). In that case,
Chief Justice John Marshall explained that foreign sovereigns have no
inherent exemption from the power of American courts, since the
“jurisdiction of the nation within its own territory is necessarily
exclusive and absolute.”
Id. at 136. Still, he wrote, it would “degrade
the dignity” of a sovereign state to have its rights adjudicated in the
courts of another country, so, most countries had agreed to waive
1 We have appellate jurisdiction over this appeal because the collateral
order doctrine “allows an immediate appeal from an order denying immunity
under the FSIA.” Petersen Energía Inversora S.A.U. v. Argentine Republic & YPF S.A.,
895 F.3d 194, 203 (2d Cir. 2018) (internal quotation marks omitted).
24
jurisdiction over foreign sovereigns. Id. at 137–40. The young United
States, the Chief Justice announced, would do the same. Id. at 147.
This was a matter of “grace and comity,” not power, and of
“common law,” not statute. Verlinden B.V. v. Cent. Bank of Nigeria, 461
U.S. 480, 486 (1983); Samantar v. Yousuf,
560 U.S. 305, 311 (2010).
Although district courts had subject-matter jurisdiction over suits
against foreign states under the Constitution and the diversity statute,
they elected not to exercise it when a defendant was entitled to
immunity. See Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp.,
488
U.S. 428, 437 n.5 (1989).
For many years, that entitlement was determined by the
executive branch, not the judiciary. See Verlinden, 461 U.S. at 486–87.
In “nearly every action brought against a foreign sovereign,” the State
Department would submit a “suggestion of immunity” and the
receiving court would surrender its jurisdiction over the case.
25
Beierwaltes v. L’Office Federale De La Culture De La Confederation Suisse,
999 F.3d 808, 818 (2d Cir. 2021) (cleaned up).
Things started to change in 1952, when the State Department
announced that it would follow the more modern “restrictive” theory
of foreign sovereign immunity. Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United
States, 143 S. Ct. 940, 946 (2023). In what came to be known as the Tate
Letter, the State Department explained that “the immunity of the
sovereign [would be] recognized with regard to sovereign or public
acts (jure imperii) of a state, but not with respect to private acts (jure
gestionis).” Letter of Jack B. Tate, Acting Legal Adviser, Department
of State, to Acting Attorney General Philip B. Perlman (May 19, 1952),
reprinted in 26 Dep’t of State Bull. 984, 984–85 (1952), and in Alfred
Dunhill of London, Inc. v. Republic of Cuba,
425 U.S. 682, 711–12 (1976)
(Appendix 2 to opinion of the Court).
The Tate Letter threw immunity doctrine “into some disarray.”
Republic of Austria v. Altmann, 541 U.S. 677, 690 (2004). Although the
26
State Department continued to file suggestions of immunity, and the
courts continued to respect them, “political considerations”
sometimes led the State Department to support immunity when a
straightforward reading of the restrictive theory would have led it to
oppose. Id. Confusing things still more, if the State Department did
not step in, courts made immunity determinations by themselves,
“generally by reference to prior State Department decisions.”
Verlinden,
461 U.S. at 487. With two branches, having different
institutional considerations, deciding who should be immune and
who should not, “the governing standards were,” unsurprisingly,
“neither clear nor uniformly applied.”
Id. at 488.
Twenty-four years after the Tate Letter, Congress brought
order to the chaos. It replaced the old ad hoc system with the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94–583, 90 Stat. 2891,
which provided a “comprehensive set of legal standards governing
claims of immunity in every civil action against a foreign state.”
27
Republic of Argentina v. NML Cap., Ltd., 573 U.S. 134, 141 (2014)
(internal quotation marks omitted). In doing so, it intended to “codify
the restrictive theory of sovereign immunity” laid out in the Tate
Letter, “which Congress recognized as consistent with extant
international law.” Samantar, 560 U.S. at 319–20; see Garb v. Republic
of Poland,
440 F.3d 579, 586 (2d Cir. 2006) (“Congress . . . intended to
codify the Tate Letter.”).
The FSIA provides that “a foreign state shall be immune from
the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States and of the States
except as provided” in the Act. 28 U.S.C. § 1604; Saudi Arabia v.
Nelson,
507 U.S. 349, 355 (1993). Any “agency or instrumentality” of
a foreign state is similarly immune.
28 U.S.C. §§ 1603(a), 1604. The
FSIA defines “agency or instrumentality,” in relevant part, as an
entity “which is an organ of a foreign state or political subdivision
thereof, or a majority of whose shares or other ownership interest is
28
owned by a foreign state or political subdivision thereof.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 1603(b)(2). 2
The crucial word there—which goes a long way toward
resolving this case—is is. The statute uses the present tense, and we,
in the words of the Supreme Court, must give that choice “real
significance.” Dole Food, 538 U.S. at 478. The parties, however,
disagree on that significance. The plaintiffs argue that a “statute’s use
of the present tense ordinarily refers to the time the suit is filed, not
the time the court rules.” Appellees’ Br. 46–47 (quoting TIG Ins. Co.
v. Republic of Argentina,
967 F.3d 778, 783 (D.C. Cir. 2020)). JTB
counters that a time-of-filing rule would violate the purposes of the
FSIA. The State Department argues that here, the present tense
reflects the FSIA’s concern with “current political realities and
2 The district court did not decide whether JTB is now an instrumentality
of a foreign state under the FSIA. See Bartlett v. Société Générale de Banque au Liban
SAL, No. 19-CV-00007, 2021 WL 3706909, at *8 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 6, 2021) (noting that
defendants “claim that they qualify as an ‘agency or instrumentality’ of Lebanon”
without deciding this question).
29
relationships” and its aim that “foreign states and their
instrumentalities” be given “some present protection from the
inconvenience of suit as a gesture of comity.” Br. of Amicus Curiae
U.S. Department of State 11 (quoting Republic of Austria v. Altmann,
541 U.S. 677, 696 (2004)). We think the State Department has the better
of it: The most natural reading of the statute is one that gives foreign
sovereigns immunity even when they gain their sovereign status mid-
suit. We therefore hold that immunity under the Foreign Sovereign
Immunities Act,
28 U.S.C. § 1604, may attach when a defendant
becomes an instrumentality of a foreign sovereign after a suit is filed.
To see why, look first to the structure of the FSIA. The act gives
foreign states immunity not only from judgments, but from process,
too. It shields them from the “expense, intrusiveness, and hassle of
litigation altogether.” Beierwaltes, 999 F.3d at 817 (internal quotation
marks omitted). We see no reason why that protection should apply
only if the defendant had sovereign status from the beginning of the
30
suit. The fact that a defendant acquired instrumentality status after
the suit began will not ordinarily justify subjecting a foreign sovereign
to the “inconvenience of suit.” Altmann, 541 U.S. at 696; cf. Zuza v. Off.
of the High Representative,
857 F.3d 935, 938 (D.C. Cir. 2017)
(concluding that foreign official immunity under the International
Organizations Immunities Act, 22 U.S.C. § 288d(b), “compels prompt
dismissal even when it attaches mid-litigation”).
This reading is consistent with other authority 3 and dovetails
with the purposes of foreign sovereign immunity. Such immunity
exists for different reasons than “other status-based immunities,”
including the qualified immunity accorded to many state actors. Dole
Food, 538 U.S. at 478–79. Immunity for government officers prevents
3See Straub v. A P Green, Inc., 38 F.3d 448, 451 (9th Cir. 1994) (suggesting,
but not deciding, that “the FSIA may be applicable if a party that becomes a
‘foreign state’ after the commencement of a lawsuit promptly brings its status as a
‘foreign state’ to the district court’s attention”); cf. Matton v. Brit. Airways Bd., Inc.,
No. 85 CIV. 1268,
1988 WL 117456, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 27, 1988) (holding that a
post-filing privatization of a sovereign instrumentality meant the FSIA no longer
applied because the purposes of foreign sovereign immunity were no longer
implicated). But see Olympia Express, Inc. v. Linee Aeree Italiane, S.p.A.,
509 F.3d 347,
349–50 (7th Cir. 2007) (rejecting Matton’s reasoning).
31
“the threat of suit from crippling the proper and effective
administration of public affairs.” Id. at 479 (cleaned up). “Foreign
sovereign immunity, by contrast, is not meant to avoid chilling
foreign states . . . in the conduct of their business but to give [them]
some protection from the inconvenience of suit as a gesture of comity
between the United States and other sovereigns.”
Id. The immunity
therefore focuses on “current political realities.” Altmann,
541 U.S. at
696; see Republic of Iraq v. Beaty,
556 U.S. 848, 864 (2009) (same). What
matters is whether a foreign sovereign is subject to the burdens of suit
at any point before judgment.
The pre-FSIA history of foreign sovereign immunity likewise
suggests that immunity may kick in after a lawsuit has been filed.
Take the Supreme Court’s decision in Oliver American Trading Co. v.
United States of Mexico, 264 U.S. 440 (1924), which illustrates the need
for immunity to reflect the latest political developments. Oliver
involved a breach of contract suit brought by a Delaware corporation
32
against the government of Mexico. At the time the company filed suit,
the United States did not recognize the de facto Mexican government
as legitimate, but the United States established diplomatic relations
while the suit was pending. Id. at 442. Once that happened, the
district court held that Mexico was entitled to immunity.
Id. The
corporation sought review in the Supreme Court, under a statute
authorizing such direct review of decisions that “present the question
of jurisdiction of the District Court as a federal court.”
Id. The
Supreme Court, however, concluded that the question of foreign
sovereign immunity did not implicate “the power of the court” and
transferred the appeal to this Court to proceed in the ordinary course.
Id. at 442–43. We affirmed. Oliver Am. Trading Co. v. Gov’t of the United
States of Mexico,
5 F.2d 659, 667 (2d Cir. 1924). The upshot: In the pre-
FSIA world, a defendant who gained foreign sovereign immunity
after a suit was filed had to be dismissed from the case. 4 The FSIA, as
4 Oliver also demonstrates that immunity and jurisdiction did not
necessarily rise and fall together in the pre-FSIA regime. A court could still have
33
we have seen, codified the pre-existing common law. Samantar, 560
U.S. at 319–20.
More recently, courts have reached the same conclusion in
other immunity cases. In 2009, the Supreme Court held that when a
2003 presidential designation made an FSIA exception inapplicable to
Iraq, “immunity kicked back in” and then-pending cases had to be
dismissed. Beaty, 556 U.S. at 865. Six years ago, the D.C. Circuit held
that officers of international organizations entitled to immunity under
the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA),
22 U.S.C.
§§ 288 et seq., could invoke that immunity, and compel dismissal, even
when they gained their status only after the suit was filed. Zuza,
857
F.3d at 938. The IOIA, we note, provides that international
organizations enjoy “the same immunity from suit . . . as is enjoyed
jurisdiction even when a defendant gained sovereign immunity after filing and the
court was thereby compelled to dismiss. See Oliver,
264 U.S. at 442 (noting that the
case did not implicate the constitutional or statutory power of the court to
hear the case); Oliver,
5 F.2d at 667 (holding that post-filing diplomatic recognition
conferred immunity on the Mexican government and required dismissal).
34
by foreign governments.” 22 U.S.C. § 288a(b). And in a case
involving claims against members of the Saudi ruling family, the
Eleventh Circuit held that diplomatic immunity requires dismissal
even when the defendant becomes a diplomat after the action
commences. See Abdulaziz v. Metro. Dade County, 741 F.2d 1328, 1330
(11th Cir. 1984).
With structure, purpose, and history arrayed against them, the
plaintiffs argue that Supreme Court precedent is nevertheless on their
side. They contend that the Court’s statement in Dole Food that
“instrumentality status is determined at the time of the filing of the
complaint” forecloses changes in status after filing. Dole Food, 538 U.S.
at 480. We disagree. In Dole Food, a group of farm workers from Costa
Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Panama sued the Dole Food Company
(and several others) over alleged injuries from exposure to a chemical
used as an agricultural pesticide.
Id. at 471. Some of the defendants
moved to dismiss, arguing that they were instrumentalities of Israel
35
when the alleged conduct took place, although not at the time the suit
was brought. Id. at 471–72. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to
decide “whether a corporation’s instrumentality status is defined as
of the time an alleged tort or other actionable wrong occurred or, on
the other hand, at the time suit is filed.”
Id. at 471.
The answer, the Court held, is that “instrumentality status is
determined at the time of the filing of the complaint,” not at the time
the wrong occurred. Id. at 480. The Court reasoned that “the plain
text” of § 1603(b)(2) is “expressed in the present tense,” id. at 478. It
also invoked “the longstanding principle that the jurisdiction of the
Court depends upon the state of things at the time of the action
brought.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Giving the
companies immunity for a status they no longer held would, the
Court concluded, do nothing to advance the purpose of foreign
sovereign immunity—protecting sovereigns from “the inconvenience
of suit as a gesture of comity”—because, once the defendants had
36
ceased to be instrumentalities of a foreign state, no foreign sovereign
was involved. Id. at 479.
The situation here is flipped: The defendant claims to have
gained sovereign status after filing, rather than losing it before. The
logic of Dole Food, applied to these facts, supports the mirror-image
outcome: Although pre-suit sovereign immunity cannot be retained
by a no-longer-sovereign defendant, sovereign status acquired post-
filing can confer immunity. That result gives the FSIA’s use of the
present tense “real significance,” as Dole Food instructed. 538 U.S. at
478. It also accords with Dole Food’s explanation of the purposes
behind foreign sovereign immunity, which exists to protect foreign
sovereigns from “the inconvenience of suit,” and not, as with
qualified immunity, to shape conduct ex ante.
Id. at 479.
The plaintiffs object that Dole Food gave us a clear rule, and as a
lower court, we are bound by it. But opinions are not statutes. They
should not be read as if they were. See Reiter v. Sonotone Corp., 442
37
U.S. 330, 341 (1979). The Supreme Court has “often admonished that
general language in judicial opinions should be read as referring in
context to circumstances similar to the circumstances then before the
Court and not referring to quite different circumstances that the Court
was not then considering.” Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States,
143 S. Ct. 940, 950 (2023) (internal quotation marks omitted). 5
Read in context, the statement in Dole Food does not support the
plaintiffs’ position. The Dole Food court had occasion to consider only
two options: setting instrumentality status at the time of the allegedly
wrongful conduct or setting it at the time the suit was brought. 538
U.S. at 471. The Court did not consider—and has not since
5 Turkiye Halk Bankasi provides a nice example of the need for caution in
reading broad judicial statements in the FSIA context. The case concerned the
criminal prosecution of a Turkish bank for conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions.
143 S. Ct. at 943. The bank, which was wholly owned by the Republic of Turkey,
argued that the FSIA gave it immunity from prosecution, claiming that no FSIA
exception applied to it and pointing to the Supreme Court’s statement in a 1989
case that the FSIA is the “sole basis for obtaining jurisdiction over a foreign state
in federal court.” Id. at 950 (quoting Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping
Corp., 488 U.S. 428, 439 (1989)). That language, the bank said, was definitive. But
the Court, noting that Amerada Hess was a civil, not a criminal, case, concluded that
its logic did not “translate to the criminal context.”
Id.
38
considered—the immunity of a defendant who gains sovereign status
after the suit begins. That question, as we have explained, raises quite
different concerns from the ones the Court faced in Dole Food.
The plaintiffs point to two statements from this Court that they
argue support their reading of Dole Food. First, in 2014, citing Dole
Food, we observed in a footnote that “the court’s subject matter
jurisdiction and a party’s instrumentality status for purposes of § 1603
are both determined at the time when the complaint is filed.”
European Cmty. v. RJR Nabisco, Inc., 764 F.3d 129, 143 n.15 (2d Cir.
2014), rev’d on other grounds,
579 U.S. 325 (2016). The plaintiff in RJR
Nabisco was the European Community (EC), which was incorporated
into the European Union after the suit was brought, a change that the
Court said was irrelevant given Dole Food. Id. That holding, the
plaintiffs argue, ties our hands.
We disagree. For one thing, the case lacks precedential status,
as the Supreme Court reversed the judgment. Even if the decision
39
had not been reversed, the footnote’s cursory incantation of Dole Food
would not bind us, since the opinion’s reference to “instrumentality
status” related not to immunity, but only to determining diversity
jurisdiction where the sovereign was a plaintiff. RJR Nabisco, 764 F.3d
at 143. Because
28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(4) creates jurisdiction over suits
between “a foreign state . . . as plaintiff and citizens of a State,” the
district court had diversity jurisdiction only if the EC was a foreign
state or an instrumentality of one. RJR Nabisco,
764 F.3d at 143. We
thus considered the EC’s instrumentality status to establish
jurisdiction; we did not consider the EC’s potential immunity,
because the EC was the plaintiff. See
id. 6
The plaintiffs also point to a 2004 case in which we said that
Dole Food had “unequivocally” held that instrumentality status under
6 RJR Nabisco thus considered neither the effect of a post-filing change in
instrumentality status on jurisdiction in a federal question case, such as this one,
nor in a diversity jurisdiction suit brought against a foreign state under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1330, which provides diversity jurisdiction in cases against foreign states that are
not immune under the FSIA.
40
the FSIA is “determined at the time of the filing of the complaint.”
Abrams v. Société Nationale Des Chemins De Fer Francais, 389 F.3d 61, 64
(2d Cir. 2004). But Abrams cited Dole Food only to establish that an
entity nationalized pre-suit was entitled to immunity even though the
nationalization took place after the conduct at issue.
Id. (“Once the
railroad is encompassed by the FSIA, its prior incarnation as a private
entity does not bar the statute’s retroactive application.”). That
application of Dole Food is not at issue in this case.
Finally, the plaintiffs caution that allowing post-filing changes
in sovereign status will encourage gamesmanship. Those are real
concerns. Take, for example, TIG Insurance Co. v. Republic of Argentina,
967 F.3d 778 (D.C. Cir. 2020). In that case, an insurance company tried
to execute a judgment against Argentina by attaching a house the
country owned in Washington, D.C.
Id. at 780. Argentina had listed
the house for sale, but as soon as the company sought to attach the
property to satisfy its judgment, Argentina took it off the market.
Id.
41
The parties then disputed whether the building was still in
commercial use, and thus within one of the FSIA’s exceptions. Id. The
D.C. Circuit held that commercial status had to be determined at the
time the attachment was filed.
Id. at 782. The court noted that the
relevant statute,
28 U.S.C. § 1610(a), did not use the present tense, and
it worried about creating an incentive for foreign sovereigns “to halt
any commercial use of a property as soon as a creditor sought to
attach it.”
Id. at 782–83, 785. Those concerns are absent in this case.
It was the U.S. designation of JTB as a terrorist organization, not any
attempt by Lebanon to avoid this lawsuit, that forced the bank into
liquidation and public receivership.
III. Conclusion
In sum, we hold as follows:
1. Immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,
28 U.S.C. § 1604, may attach when a defendant becomes
an instrumentality of a foreign sovereign after a suit is
42
filed. We remand for the district court to determine
whether JTB is now such an instrumentality.
2. Given that holding, we need not reach appellants’
alternative argument that the district court erred in not
substituting Baasiri for JTB.
We therefore VACATE the judgment of the district court and
REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
43
