Benjamin Tagger v. Strauss Group Ltd.

In Sumitomo ShojiAmerica, Inc. v. Avagliano, 457 U.S. 176 (1982), Chief Justice Burger, writing for a unanimous Court, detailed the history and legislative intent of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation trea­ ties (“FCN Treaties”) between the United States and various countries. FCN Treaties provide varying levels of access to domestic courts, differentiating between those providing lesser “most favored nation treatment” and a set of nations granted “National Treatment”, the “highest level of protection afforded by com­ mercial treaties,” providing parity “upon terms no less favorable than the treatment accorded... to nationals ...” Id. at 188. Petitioner Benjamin Tagger, a permanent resident domiciled in New York, and Israeh national, invoked the Israel Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty (the “Israel Treaty”) in a diversity jurisdiction case under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) against an alien com­ pany, Strauss Group of Israel. Petitioner argued that the Israel Treaty provided him access to federal court on equal terms with an American national, and that diversity existed in a suit against an alien com­ pany, Respondent Strauss Group. The Second Circuit held that National Treatment applied only to minor procedural matters such as the “employment of law­ yers” and “filing fees.” The Question Presented Is: Does the National Treatment clause in Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation Treaties provide permanent resident aliens from treaty nations access to federal courts on equal terms as an American national, allowing them to initiate diversity actions against alien companies or individuals in pursuit or defense of their rights?