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Lindsay R. Cooper, et al. v. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., aka TEPCO, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 19-55295 · judgment May 22, 2020

Certiorari denied · March 29, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

Whether United States Military personnel, while deployed on U.S. Naval vessels undertaking a U.S. diplomatic humanitarian assistance mission, can rightfully rely on jurisdiction in a United States court when incurring harms by a private, foreign corporation for conduct occurring on foreign soil; Whether a Statement of Interest from the United States should be afforded dispositive weight when considering dismissal on international comity grounds where Petitioners are U.S. Military Personnel harmed by a private Japanese corporation while onboard U.S. Naval vessels deployed on a U.S. initiated diplomatic and humanitarian relief mission to Japan; Whether the lower courts had erroneously ascribed dispositive weight to their choice-of-law findings when analyzing and ultimately dismissing Petitioners’ claims on the basis of international comity.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Howard Moore Jr.
Moore & Moore

For respondent
David Jonathan Weiner
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Proceedings

  1. Mar 29 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Mar 10 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021.
  3. Mar 09 2021
    Reply of petitioners Lindsay R. Cooper, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  4. Mar 01 2021
    Brief of respondent Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc in opposition filed.
  5. Feb 26 2021
    Brief of respondent General Electric Company in opposition filed.
  6. Jan 22 2021
    The motions to extend the time to file responses are granted and the time is extended to and including March 1, 2021, for all respondents.
  7. Jan 21 2021
    Motion of TEPCO to extend the time to file a response from January 29, 2021 to March 1, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Jan 21 2021
    Motion of GE to extend the time to file a response from January 29, 2021 to March 1, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Dec 30 2020
    Response Requested. (Due January 29, 2021)
  10. Dec 09 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
  11. Dec 02 2020
    Waiver of right of respondent Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc to respond filed.
  12. Dec 02 2020
    Waiver of right of respondent General Electric Company to respond filed.
  13. Nov 20 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 28, 2020)