Michael P. Maslanka, assistant professor of law, UNT Dallas College of Law.
American exceptionalism? Real or imagined? There are opposing views, but the one thing I imagine both sides can agree on is this: America is exceptional at litigation. So, what about suing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for the effects of COVID-19? The short answer: There are viable claims but they are a long shot.
Let’s do some basic wiring, starting in 1976, when Congress enacted the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). It is the sole means by which American courts can be used to sue a foreign nation. The law’s presumption: A foreign nation is immune from a lawsuit unless it falls within an exception. For torts, by way of example, if an employee of the Canadian consulate in Dallas travels by car to Longview to bail out a Canadian citizen from jail and in the process speeds and negligently runs over a Texan, Canada can then be sued in an American court. But only torts entirely committed in the United States are actionable.
