Best Medical Belgium, Inc. v. Kingdom of Belgium

913 F. Supp. 2d 230, 2012 WL 6651976, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180961
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedDecember 20, 2012
DocketCase No. 1:12-cv-471 (GBL/TRJ)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 913 F. Supp. 2d 230 (Best Medical Belgium, Inc. v. Kingdom of Belgium) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Best Medical Belgium, Inc. v. Kingdom of Belgium, 913 F. Supp. 2d 230, 2012 WL 6651976, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180961 (E.D. Va. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

GERALD BRUCE LEE, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendants The Kingdom of Belgium, Belgium Trade Commission-Wallonia Investment and Trade Office, Robert Baert, Thierry Bosly, and Pierre-E. Cornil’s Motions to Dismiss. (Dkt. Nos. 8, 11, 14, 17.) Defendants move to dismiss on the following grounds: lack of subject matter jurisdiction as to the entire action; lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, and insufficient service of process to Baert, Bosly, and Cornil (“Individual Defendants”); non-justiciability, forum non conveniens, and improper venue; and failure to state a claim. This case involves breach of contract, unlawful taking, conspiracy, and discrimination claims brought by a Virginia corporation and its Belgian subsidiary against the Kingdom of Belgium, one of its trade offices, and individuals acting pursuant to the Kingdom’s judicial functions. Plaintiffs allege jurisdiction over the Defendants pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”) and the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”).

This Motion presents three issues before the Court with respect to subject matter jurisdiction. First, the Court must determine whether the FSIA’s commercial exception to sovereign immunity, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1605(a)(2) (2006), confers jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ breach of contract claims. Second, the Court must determine whether the FSIA’s takings exception confers jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ takings claim and the underlying judicial proceedings. Third, the Court must determine whether the ATS confers subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ conspiracy and discrimination claims against a foreign state, its trade office, and the decisions of its judicial branch and officers thereunder.

The Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion, finding subject matter jurisdiction lacking as to all Defendants, and thus DISMISSES Plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice. The contract-based claims are dismissed because the alleged actions do not demonstrate “commercial activity” required to invoke a FSIA exception. The takings claim is dismissed because Defendants’ actions are not a taking subject to judicial review under the FSIA. The ATS claims are dismissed because Plaintiffs fail to plead a violation of international law as required for jurisdiction under the statute.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Best Medical Belgium, Inc. (“BMB”) brings this action in its own name [234]*234and in that of Best Medical Belgium, S.A. (“BMBSA”), a foreign corporation Best Medical owned between March 2011 and April 2012. BMB, a Virginia corporation, manufactures and supplies, inter alia, radioactive isotopes used for cancer treatments. Compl. ¶ 1. BMBSA was a Belgian corporation known as Nordion prior to BMB purchasing a controlling share of BMBSA stock. Id. at ¶¶ 1, 21. BMB initiated this action in April 2012 based on the following series of events.

In November 2010, Krishnan Suthanthiran, BMB’s owner and sole shareholder, received an e-mail from an agent of the Belgian Trade Commission-Wallonia Investment and Trade Office, officially known as Agence Wallonne á I’Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers (“AWEX”). Id. at ¶ 16. The e-mail described the availability of assistance to foreign investors through the Office for Foreign Investors. Id. This office operated under the government of Wallonia, a region in Belgium, to foster investment in the region. Id. Available assistance included benefits of grant schemes, tax regimes, financing arrangements, and other incentives to help establish business investments in Wallonia. Id. at ¶¶ 16-19. Additionally, the e-mail contained literature providing promotional information on the benefits of investing in Wallonia. Id. at ¶ 17. These documents further detailed examples of subsidies, loans, and other financial assistance for prospective investors. Id. at ¶¶ 18-19.

While in Florida in January 2011, Suthanthiran, along with BMB’s general counsel and, business manager, met with two AWEX representatives regarding investment possibilities. Id. at ¶ 20. According to Plaintiffs, these AWEX representatives indicated that the Wallonia Region would provide consulting and financial support and incentives to BMB in return for an investment in Wallonia. Id. at ¶¶ 20, 53. These representatives provided a booklet indicating that “investment premiums are awarded to companies that invest in Wallonia and create jobs” and that ‘Wallonia offers a wide range of subsidies for [research and development] awarded to SME’s and large companies with a plant in the region.” Id. at ¶ 55. Two months later, in late March 2011, BMB purchased a controlling stake in MDS Nordion, S.A., known thereafter as Best Medical Belgium, S.A. Id. at ¶ 21.

Financial woes and labor disputes dominated the period of time immediately following BMB’s investment in BMBSA. At the time of purchase, BMBSA’s losses ranged between six and seven million pounds per year. Id. at ¶ 22. Despite these losses, the company retained each of its 95 employees after BMB’s acquisition, despite Nordion’s intention to lay off 60 employees. Id. BMBSA also incurred purchase expenses in an attempt to expand its business. Id. Labor woes arose in the summer of 2011. In July, BMBSA disciplined an employee who exported radioactive material without a license. Id. at ¶ 23. Plaintiffs claim Nadine Duquesne, a BMBSA employee, threatened a worker strike in response to the disciplinary action. Id. at ¶ 24.

As these financial and labor woes continued into the fall- of 2011, BMBSA sought restructuring assistance through the Belgian court system. In October 2011, BMBSA filed for Procedure de Reorganisation Judiciare (PRJ) in The Commercial Court of Charleroi. Id. at ¶¶ 4, 25. This procedure permits the courts to assist in restructuring financially struggling companies, similar to bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. Id. at 25; Baert Aff. ¶¶ 7-12. • The court appointed Robert Baert as the Delegate Judge responsible [235]*235for BMBSA’s restructuring. Id. BMBSA subsequently presented a number of restructuring plans, all of which the court ultimately rejected. Id. at ¶¶ 26, 39. During this time, BMBSA continued to invest funds into their Belgian business and hire additional employees. Id. at ¶ 38. By the end of 2011, BMBSA lost approximately six million pounds since BMB’s investment in the company. Id.

BMBSA’s continued struggles caused the court to take additional action. In January 2012, the Commercial Court appointed two administrators to conduct day-to-day management of BMBSA: Thierry Bosly and Pierre-E. Cornil. Id. at ¶¶ 5-6, 39. During January and February, BMBSA presented additional restructuring plans to no avail. Id. at ¶ 40. Losses increased to nearly one million pounds per month. Id. In March, the Commercial Court ordered the sale of BMBSA’s assets upon the recommendation of Baert, Bosly, and Cornil. Id. at ¶ 46. The court’s order permitted the acceptance of bids on BMBSA assets until April 18, 2012. Id. On April 26, 2012, less than two weeks after bidding closed, Plaintiffs initiated this action.

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913 F. Supp. 2d 230, 2012 WL 6651976, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180961, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/best-medical-belgium-inc-v-kingdom-of-belgium-vaed-2012.