Estate of Silme G. Domingo v. Republic of the Philippines, Appeal of Ferdinand E. Marcos

This appeal arises out of a wrongful death action that was filed in 1982 in the Western District of Washington against the Republic of the Philippines, Ferdinand E. Marcos, and others. On December 2, 1982, the Philippines requested the United States Department of State to suggest that Ferdinand Marcos, then President of the Philippines, be granted immunity from liability in the wrongful death action. The State Department complied, forwarding a suggestion of immunity from suit to the Western District of Washington by way of the Attorney General of the United States. In response to the State Department’s suggestion of immunity, the district court dismissed the action against Marcos with prejudice.

In March 1986, after Marcos had been replaced as President of the Philippines and had moved to Hawaii, plaintiffs served Marcos with a subpoena to appear for a deposition in the wrongful death action. Marcos moved to quash the subpoena on the ground that the 1982 court order granting him immunity from suit totally immunized him from the jurisdiction of the court, including the court’s subpoena power. The motion was denied by the District Court for the District of Hawaii on the ground that…