Justices to Consider Suit to Recover Art Looted by Nazis (1)

The Supreme Court will consider protections for foreign countries from civil action in the U.S., agreeing to hear a German agency’s appeal of a ruling that it must face suit over the sale of art looted by the Nazis.

The justices agreed Thursday to take up the matter that turns on the interpretation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which generally protects overseas governments and their agencies from lawsuits.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the “expropriation exception” allowed the suit in this case. That exception permits suits when property was taken “in ...