Maria v. Altmann, an Individual v. Republic of Austria, a Foreign State and the Austrian Gallery, an Agency of the Republic of Austria

At issue is whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602-1611 , confers jurisdiction in the United States District Court for the Central District of California over the Republic of Austria and the state-owned Austrian Gallery in a suit alleging wrongful appropriation of six Gustav Klimt paintings from their rightful heirs. Maria Altmann, a United States citizen, seeks the recovery of the paintings from the Republic of Austria, which now houses them in the Austrian Gallery. She alleges that (i) the Nazis took the paintings from her Jewish uncle to “Aryanize” them in violation of international law; (ii) the pre-World War II and wartime Austrian government was eomplicit in their original takings; (Hi) the current government, when it learned of the heirs’ rights to the paintings, deceived the heirs as to the circumstances of its acquisition of the paintings; and (iv) the Republic and the Gallery now wrongfully assert ownership over the paintings. The Republic of Austria appeals from the district court’s denial of its motion to dismiss for want of jurisdiction. Rejecting the Austrian Republic’s assertions, the district court found, inter alia, that the FSIA applied…