Supreme Court considers woman's right to sue in US for accident on Austrian national railroad
Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to side with the Austrian national railroad during oral arguments on Monday on its claim that it is immune from an injury suit in the United States.
The suit was filed by a California woman who lost her legs in an accident in Austria after buying her ticket online from a Massachusetts travel agent. At issue in the case is whether the railroad has immunity from suit in the United States under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, report SCOTUSblog, the Washington Post and the New York Times.
The plaintiff, Carol Sachs, claims she can sue under an exception for suits based on commercial activity in the United States. The argument was the first in the court’s new term, the New York Times points out.
Sachs was represented by Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher, who “soldiered on” amid skeptical questioning by the justices, according to the Post account. “I think there are plenty of cases that support the proposition that when a company markets and sells a product in a jurisdiction,” a right to sue in that jurisdiction is implied, he said.
