French v. Banco Nacional de Cuba

Chief Judge Fulo.

On this appeal from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff in an action for a breach of contract, two questions were originally briefed and argued—first, whether the defendant is entitled to sovereign immunity and, second, whether the defendant may invoke the “ act of state” doctrine. We ordered reargument, requesting the parties to address themselves to further questions, the primary one being whether the Hickenlooper Amendment to the Federal Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (hereafter referred to as the Hickenlooper Amendment)1 covers this case and bars application of the act…