New York Law Applies to $1.68 Billion Judgment Against Iran

The current fate of the $1.68 billion judgment terrorist victims hold against Iran will be determined by New York law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Nov. 21.

Courts generally lack jurisdiction to reach extraterritorial assets, but New York law applies here and permits a non-sovereign in possession of a foreign sovereign’s extraterritorial assets to bring those assets into the state, the court said (Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 2017 BL 417110, 2d Cir., No. 15-0690, 11/21/17).

Previously in this case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld 22 U.S.C. §8772, which requires a ...