Judge defies appeals court in OPEC case
A federal judge in Washington has refused to follow instructions from the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals in processing a “terrorism” lawsuit against OPEC, the plaintiffs say, and they now are asking for an order to make that happen.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton earlier had dismissed the action, which alleges conspiracy, price-fixing, hampering distribution and limiting production, that was filed against the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, based on international law that restricted how the organization could be notified of a lawsuit.
But the circuit court, at that time, returned the case to the district court with the instructions to find a way to serve the group, which is headquartered in Austria, “even if the alternative means would contravene foreign law.”
“Service,” the appeals court ruled at the time, “may be accomplished in contravention of the foreign country.”