The Republic Of The Philippines v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation

This case raises important issues at the intersection of two principles: our deep-seated belief that a district court must be permitted to protect the integrity of its fact-finding process, and the settled considerations which courts in the United States must heed when considering whether to enjoin the executive activities of a foreign sovereign carried out in that sovereign's own territory. The district court found that the Republic of the Philippines was harassing witnesses who had testified against it in a suit it had brought in federal court in New Jersey. Thus, the court enjoined the Republic from continuing this harassment. The court also denied interlocutory certification of an underlying jury verdict so as to enforce its injunction, and ordered that any settlement in the case be conditioned upon acceptance of the court's continuing jurisdiction to enforce its injunctions. Because the district court exceeded its authority, we will reverse.

In 1988, the Republic of the Philippines (the "Republic") and the National Power Corporation ("NPC") filed a complaint against Westinghouse Electrical Corporation and Westinghouse International Projects Company (collectively "Westinghouse") and Burns and Roe Enterprises, Inc. ("Burns and Roe") concerning the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bagac, Bataan. The fifteen-count complaint alleged breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference with fiduciary duties, negligence, civil conspiracy, violations of state and federal racketeering statutes, and violations of the Robinson-Patman Act and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The district court determined that all but two of the counts against Westinghouse were subject to international arbitration. Republic of the Philippines v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 714 F.Supp. 1362 (D.N.J.1989). Thus, most of the Republic's claims against Westinghouse were referred to arbitration under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.1 In the remaining two counts, the Republic and NPC alleged that Westinghouse and Burns and Roe had conspired to bribe then-President Ferdinand Marcos in order to win the power plant contract, and had thus tortiously interfered with the fiduciary duties that Marcos had owed the people of the Philippines.

While preparation for the trial on the tortious interference counts proceeded in New Jersey, arbitration implicating the other counts proceeded apace in Geneva. In late 1991, reaching the bribery allegations in the context of the Republic's challenge to the validity of the contract's arbitration clause, the arbitrators found that the Republic had failed to show that Westinghouse had bribed President Marcos. When the arbitrators included this finding in a preliminary award in favor of Westinghouse and Burns and Roe entered in December, 1991, the defendants moved for summary judgment in the district court, claiming the arbitrators' preliminary award collaterally estopped the Republic and NPC from litigating the bribery and tortious interference claims. The district court denied the motion and, when settlement discussions broke down, the case went to trial in March, 1993.

As the district court noted in the opinion supporting the order now before us, "[f]rom all accounts in the Philippine press, [the filing of the suit against Westinghouse and Burns and Roe and the arbitration in Geneva] assumed enormous importance in the eyes of Philippines leaders." District Court Opinion ("Op.") at 5. The court explained that "[c]onstruction of the power plant had been undertaken to help solve the desperate electrical power shortage in the Philippines. Huge foreign loans were incurred to pay for the project." Id. When Marcos left the Philippines and the Aquino government suspended construction of the power plant, "the Republic found itself with a partially completed plant which was producing no electricity, an ever worsening shortage of electrical power, and a huge foreign debt burden on which, it is said, interest alone amounts to $300,000 each day." Id. Thus, the court surmised that "[i]t appears that the leaders of the Republic looked to a judgment in this case and in the arbitration proceedings as the solution to these staggering problems." Id. The court further surmised that this factual context "may provide some explanation of the untoward events which transpired after the jury rendered a verdict against the Republic." Id.

During the trial, two Filipino Westinghouse workers, Pedro A. Padre, Jr. and Jerry R. Orlina, testified for Westinghouse. In addition, Westinghouse introduced an affidavit from Perfecto V. Fernandez, a professor of law at the government-owned University of the Philippines. The affidavit had been rendered two years prior to the trial, when Westinghouse had moved for summary judgment, and discussed Philippine law relevant to the issues in the case. This testimony, the subsequent actions threatened and taken by the Republic against the witnesses, and the court's responses are the subjects of this appeal.

After a lengthy trial, the jury returned a verdict for Westinghouse and Burns and Roe on the bribery and tortious interference counts. Because the other claims were still stayed pending arbitration, the Republic filed a motion for certification pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b) to appeal the issues that had been adjudicated. At a hearing held on June 28, 1993 to consider this motion, the court was inclined to grant certification, stating that "there is no case more appropriate for certification than this one" (Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 41) and that "clearly [the case] should be certified" (J.A. at 44).

However, Westinghouse then advised the court that it had evidence that Padre, Orlina and Fernandez were being harassed and subjected to retaliation by Philippine officials because of their testimony on behalf of Westinghouse. When these allegations were brought to its attention, the court abruptly changed its mind about certification, stating that although the facts needed to be developed,

if there is a basis to [the allegation of harassment], it is a very, very serious charge, because nobody could come into this Court and then abuse people who come and testify. Some very dramatic, drastic remedies would have to be provided ... It would be destructive of our whole system. No foreign government should be allowed to use our court system and then not play fair with the witnesses in the case. I can't think of anything more destructive of our system, and simply could not permit it.

J.A. at 49-50. The court concluded that it must "hold off" on signing the Rule 54(b) certification because it would lose jurisdiction once the notice of appeal was filed. Id. at 50.

The court ordered briefing and requested a motion from Westinghouse formally requesting relief from the court. Westinghouse filed a motion requesting that the court (1) enjoin the Republic from further harassing any witnesses, (2) sanction the Republic by barring it from further prosecuting its claims before the district court or appealing the adverse jury verdict, and (3) grant Westinghouse its attorneys' fees incurred on the motion.

The court held a hearing in early July, 1993, at which argument was presented on the documentary evidence submitted by the parties relating to the Westinghouse motion, including affidavits of various parties, transcripts of television programs, news clippings, and other data. In correspondence with the parties after the hearing, the court explained that, having considered materials submitted by the Republic with a renewed motion for certification, it believed that "the Republic ha[d] anticipated some of the requirements which are contained in my proposed order [addressing the allegations of harassment], although others remain to be fulfilled." J.A. at 107. Thus, the court circulated its proposed opinion and order and scheduled another hearing for September 27, 1993, at which it heard argument about the actions the Republic had taken to address the court's concerns. Not fully satisfied with the Republic's explanations at this final hearing, however, the district court indicated that it would finalize its opinion and order shortly.

On October 4, 1993, the court filed the opinion and order. The court found that, since the jury verdict, Orlina, Padre, and Professor Fernandez had been "the target of vilification in the public press inspired by officials in the Philippines government and each has been the target of actual or threatened government action." Op. at 15. The court stated that the "attack[s]" were "spearheaded" by Francisco A. Villa, Overall Deputy Ombudsman of the Republic, a presidential appointee whose duties include initiating investigations and directing "any public official to perform any act required by law and to request assistance from any governmental agency." Id. at 16.

The court found that Deputy Ombudsman Villa had threatened on numerous occasions to take legal action for tax fraud against Padre and Orlina as a result of their testimony on behalf of Westinghouse. The court found that both Padre and Orlina had faced public censure and lost business opportunities because of the Republic's actions, and that they would be financially ruined if tax evasion charges were brought against them. In this regard, the court also found it significant that another Filipino who had been involved in the same activities as Padre and Orlina had agreed to testify for the Republic--and was then granted immunity from prosecution for tax evasion. Op. at 13, 19.

The court also documented that Villa had initiated disciplinary proceedings against Professor Fernandez for having allegedly violated Philippine law by testifying against the government while under its employ. Although the Republic had known about Fernandez' affidavit when it was submitted to the court in 1991, Villa filed charges relating to the affidavit on May 31, 1993, twelve days after the verdict. Villa charged that, by filing an affidavit on behalf of Westinghouse, Fernandez had violated his duty as a public officer "to be loyal at all times to the Republic and the Filipino people...." Op. at 21, quoting administrative complaint. The court noted that the administrative complaint concluded by stating that Fernandez, "in a cowardly attempt to escape the clutches of the law, whimpered 'I'm not even a government official. I'm just a lowly college professor.' " Op. at 21, quoting administrative complaint, which quotes Philippines Daily Inquirer (May 20, 1993). The complaint also quoted approvingly from a news columnist who had written that "Professor Fernandez should not only be fired from the State University but should be hanged in public at the courtyard of the Nuclear Plant in Morong, Bataan...." Id. The court additionally found that Villa had called Fernandez a traitor "on a number of occasions, including a television show," and that "this characterization was repeated in the Philippine press." Id. Based on the tone and substance of the administrative complaint, as well as the circumstances surrounding its filing, the court concluded that the charges against Fernandez were "motivated by rage at the jury verdict rather than considered judgment...." Id.

The Republic had submitted an affidavit from Villa purporting to establish that he did not institute proceedings against Fernandez because of the jury verdict, that Padre's and Orlina's fears are unwarranted, and that the Ombudsman's Office has not harassed any witness and had no intention of doing so. Op. at 24. However, the court found that Villa lacked credibility. Given the evidence of record, "for [Villa] to state that '[Padre's and Orlina's] fears and apprehensions are unfounded' is poppycock." Id. at 25. Furthermore, according to the court, the statements about Fernandez in Villa's affidavit continued to "reflect the Republic's rage at losing the case and its intent to strike out at one of the three persons seized upon as scapegoats for that loss." Id. And the court found that Villa's assertion that the Ombudsman's Office was not guilty of harassment was "simply not true." Id. at 25.

Although the evidence of harassment centered on Villa, the court determined that other members of the Philippines government had supported Villa's efforts. The court found ample evidence that Villa "was acting in accordance with the policies of the Office of the Executive, President Ramos." Op. at 22. The court also found that the harassment was not confined to the executive branch of government. Id. at 17 (noting that a Philippine senator had urged a study of the "culpability" of the three witnesses).

The court acknowledged that the Republic had submitted evidence purporting to show that the government did not support any action designed to harass or intimidate witnesses, and that the government specifically did not intend to pursue any charges against Padre, Orlina, or Fernandez.2 The court noted that the evidence demonstrated "a partial retreat from the retaliatory conduct" the court had documented and indicated that the Republic intends "not to pursue the retaliatory conduct further against Padre and Orlina." Op. at 28. However, the court noted that the proceedings against Fernandez "continue[d] unabated." Id. at 30.

Because the court found that the Republic's actions "threaten[ ] both the integrity of a United States District Court and the foundations of our system of justice" (Op. at 32), it concluded that it must take action. Accordingly, it (1) enjoined the Republic from harassing any witness who had given evidence or will give evidence in this case or the arbitration proceeding; (2) directed the Republic to renounce and abandon its retaliatory actions, and to advise Padre and Orlina officially of its actions and intended actions with respect to their personal income taxes; (3) denied certification under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b) until the Republic established that it was in compliance with the injunctive provisions of the court's order and that the proceedings against Fernandez were resolved "in a manner which cures the retaliatory actions"; and (4) directed that any settlement in the case must provide that the parties agree to the court's retention of jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the order. Op. at 35-36; Order at 1-3.3 The Republic appeals this order in its entirety.

The Republic's challenge to the district court's order presents three issues: (1) whether the district court exceeded its authority in issuing the injunctive portions of its order; (2) whether the district court erred in refusing Rule 54(b) certification; and (3) whether the district court exceeded its authority in ordering that if the parties settle, they must stipulate to the district court's continuing jurisdiction to enforce its order. We have jurisdiction over the injunctive portions of this order under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(a)(1),4 and because of our resolution of the Republic's challenge to the injunctions, we find that the Rule 54(b) issue becomes moot.

The Republic has not adequately presented the issue of whether the district court's factual findings constitute clear error.5 Nevertheless, it is clear from the briefing that the Republic disputes the district court's factual conclusions, and we reach the Republic's challenge because of the significance of this case not only to a foreign sovereign, but also to our domestic legal system. We believe the evidence supports the district court's conclusion that Deputy Ombudsman Villa, with the support of other members of the Philippines government, pursued a campaign designed to smear Padre, Orlina, and Fernandez as scapegoats for the Republic's failure to achieve victory in the district court.

We further agree with the district court's observation that such behavior had "a doubly subversive effect. First, witnesses, who should have been able to rely upon both the implicit and explicit assurances of th[e district] court that they could testify fully and freely without fear of any retaliatory actions, have been betrayed." Op. at 33. Additionally, "witnesses from the Philippines will fear to testify for Westinghouse and against the Republic in the arbitration proceedings and in any future proceedings in th[e district] court, preventing each tribunal from receiving all the facts." Id. We therefore find no error in the district court's conclusion that the Republic's harassment created a "situation that no court can tolerate, and that effective relief must be granted." Id. at 34.

Before we turn to the question of whether the district court's chosen relief was an abuse of its discretion, however, we note certain facts of significance. Although the district court found that the Republic's acts were retaliatory, it did not find that they were without foundation. In other words, the district court did not find that Padre and Orlina could not, under normal circumstances, be prosecuted for the activities they admitted to in open court in New Jersey. The court also stated that it accepted for purposes of its order that "under normal circumstances" Villa could file charges against Fernandez for his acceptance of compensation for providing an affidavit in this case. Op. at 34.6

The court also concluded that by the time it filed its order, the Republic had taken steps to "cure the effects of the retaliatory actions against Padre and Orlina and any additional steps which may be required can be taken readily." Id. The only element of the challenged conduct that remained was the administrative complaint against Fernandez.

Additionally, the court concluded for the purposes of its order that the Ombudsman's Office is independent of the Executive Branch. Op. at 34. Thus, it tacitly accepted the argument that the Republic could not compel Villa to withdraw his complaint against Fernandez (see id.), and for the purposes of this opinion, we make the same assumption.7

We also note a subsequent factual development not considered by the district court. During the pendency of this matter before us, we were informed by counsel for the Republic that the administrative proceeding that had been initiated by Villa against Fernandez had been dismissed by the President of the University of the Philippines. Noting that Fernandez had offered his opinion on a matter of public importance, the President of the University wrote that while

[i]t is conceded that Prof. Fernandez' point of view may appear to be unacceptable to some or more Filipinos[,] ... the role of academe is to continually engender varying thoughts, positions, theories and postulates on various key issues and concerns affecting the nation. This is not the first time that a dissenting voice has been put forth against the position taken by officials of the Republic and if the University is to remain at all one of the bastions of free thought and speech, it most certainly will not be the last.

Order, In re Complaint of Deputy Ombudsman Francisco Villa v. Prof. Perfecto V. Fernandez of the College of Law 6 (May 5, 1994).8

With these facts in mind, we now address whether the injunctive portions of the court's order were lawful exercises of the court's discretion.

The district court's findings force us to confront fundamental issues involving a federal court's power to control litigants who come before it. As discussed below, a district court's power to sanction or exercise other forms of judicial control over a foreign sovereign is not coterminous with its power to regulate or punish other litigants. Here, in issuing an order which purports to supervise and control the law enforcement activities of a foreign sovereign nation against its own citizens on its own soil, the district court exceeded the boundaries of its lawful discretion.

Our legal system will endure only so long as members of society continue to believe that our courts endeavor to provide untainted, unbiased forums in which justice may be found and done. Thus, it is beyond peradventure that district courts have broad authority to preserve and protect their essential functions. To ensure that district courts have tools available to protect their truth-seeking process, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow district courts to sanction parties who fail to meet minimum standards of conduct in many different contexts. E.g., Fed.R.Civ.P. 11 (groundless pleadings and other papers); 16(f) (failing to abide by pretrial orders); 26(g), 30(g), 37(d), and 37(g) (discovery abuses), 41(b) (involuntary dismissal for failure to prosecute, failure to follow rules, or failure to obey court order); 45(f) (disobeying subpoena); 56(g) (providing affidavit at summary judgment in bad faith or for delay). Congress has also enacted laws providing additional powers to district courts to police misconduct. E.g., 18 U.S.C. Sec. 401 (contempt power); 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1927 (punishing attorneys who vexatiously multiply proceedings). See generally Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 62-63, 111 S.Ct. 2123, 2142, 115 L.Ed.2d 27 (1991) (Kennedy, J., dissenting) (listing sources of sanctioning authority).

Nor do those formal rules and legislative dictates exhaust district courts' power to control misbehaving litigants. To the contrary, the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that a district court has inherent authority to impose sanctions upon those who would abuse the judicial process. Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43-44, 111 S.Ct. at 2132. In Chambers, a private party challenged a district court's order making him liable to his opponent for attorneys' fees of nearly $1 million expended because of the party's bad faith conduct during the course of litigation. The Court rejected the challenge, finding that the order was an appropriate exercise of the district court's inherent powers to control litigants. The Supreme Court explained that "[i]t has long been understood that 'certain implied powers must necessarily result to our Courts of justice from the nature of their institution,' powers 'which cannot be dispensed with in a Court, because they are necessary to the exercise of all others.' " Id., quoting United States v. Hudson, 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 32, 3 L.Ed. 259 (1812).9 Such salutary powers, the Court noted, "are 'governed not by rule or statute but by the control necessarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases.' " Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43, 111 S.Ct. at 2132, quoting Link v. Wabash R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 630-31, 82 S.Ct. 1386, 1389, 8 L.Ed.2d 734 (1962).10

Of course, "[b]ecause of their very potency, inherent powers must be exercised with restraint and discretion." Chambers, 501 U.S. at 44, 111 S.Ct. at 2132, 115 L.Ed.2d at 45. "A primary aspect of [a district court's] discretion is the ability to fashion an appropriate sanction for conduct which abuses the judicial process" (id. (emphasis added)). Thus, a district court must ensure that there is an adequate factual predicate for flexing its substantial muscle under its inherent powers, and must also ensure that the sanction is tailored to address the harm identified. In exercising its discretion under its inherent powers, the court should be guided by the same considerations that guide it in the imposition of sanctions under the Federal Rules. First, the court must consider the conduct at issue and explain why the conduct warrants sanction.11 If an attorney, rather than a client, is at fault, the sanction should ordinarily target the culpable attorney. Carter v. Albert Einstein Med. Center, 804 F.2d 805, 807 (3d Cir.1986); Dunbar v. Triangle Lumber and Supply Co., 816 F.2d 126, 128-29 (3d Cir.1987). Cf. Poulis v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., 747 F.2d 863, 868 (3d Cir.1984) (court must consider "the extent of the party's personal responsibility," but this factor "is not dispositive, because a client cannot always avoid the consequences of the acts or omissions of its counsel"). Obviously, a pattern of wrongdoing may require a stiffer sanction than an isolated incident; a grave wrongdoing may compel a more severe sanction than might a minor infraction; and wrongdoing that actually prejudices the wrongdoer's opponent or hinders the administration of justice may demand a stronger response than wrongdoing that, through good fortune or diligence of court or counsel, fails to achieve its untoward object. Furthermore, there may be mitigating factors that must be accounted for in shaping the court's response.

Second, having evaluated the conduct at issue, the district court must specifically consider the range of permissible sanctions and explain why less severe alternatives to the sanction imposed are inadequate or inappropriate. Although the court need not "exhaust all other sanctioning mechanisms prior to resorting to its inherent power" (Landon v. Hunt, 938 F.2d at 450, 454 (3d Cir.1991)), the court must explain why it has chosen any particular sanction from the range of alternatives it has identified. See Poulis, 747 F.2d at 868 (sanctions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 16 and 37).

The district court did not explain under what authority it was proceeding in enjoining the Republic. We deduce from the circumstances, and assume for purposes of evaluating the injunctive provisions of the district court's order, that it was acting under its inherent authority. "We review a district court's imposition of sanctions under its inherent power for abuse of discretion" (Chambers, 501 U.S. at 55, 111 S.Ct. at 2138), but we have made it clear that "a district court 'would necessarily abuse its discretion if it based its ruling on an erroneous view of the law or on a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence.' " Garr v. U.S. Healthcare, Inc., 22 F.3d 1274, 1279 (3d Cir.1994), quoting Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp., 496 U.S. 384, 405, 110 S.Ct. 2447, 2461, 110 L.Ed.2d 359 (1990).

At their core, the injunctive portions of the district court's order implicate international comity, that elusive doctrine--something more than mere international manners, but less than obligation--which attempts to mediate the frictions inherent in a community of sovereign states. Comity, in the words of Justice Gray,

is the recognition which one nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive, or judicial acts of another nation, having due regard both to international duty and convenience, and to the rights of its own citizens or of other persons who are under the protection of its laws.

Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 164, 16 S.Ct. 139, 143, 40 L.Ed. 95 (1895). The doctrine "is a nation's expression of understanding which demonstrates due regard both to international duty and convenience and to the rights of persons protected by its own laws." Somportex Ltd. v. Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corp., 453 F.2d 435, 440 (3d Cir.1971). Consequently, "comity serves our international system like the mortar which cements together a brick house. No one would willingly permit the mortar to crumble or be chipped away for fear of compromising the entire structure." Laker Airways Ltd. v. Sabena, Belgian World Airlines, 731 F.2d 909, 937 (D.C.Cir.1984).

Comity cannot be the source of a disability that prevents a district court from having the power to address wrongdoing that impacts a domestic court. As Hilton makes clear, comity must yield to domestic policy: "no nation will suffer the laws of another to interfere with her own to the injury of her citizens...." Hilton, 159 U.S. at 164, 16 S.Ct. at 144. Thus, "from the earliest times, authorities have recognized that the obligation of comity expires when the strong public policies of the forum are vitiated by the foreign act." Laker Airways, 731 F.2d at 937.

But while it is true that principles of comity cannot compel a domestic court to uphold foreign interests at the expense of the public policies of the forum state, it can--and does--force courts in the United States to tailor their remedies carefully to avoid undue interference with the domestic activities of other sovereign nations. Comity is essentially a version of the golden rule: a "concept of doing to others as you would have them do to you...." Lafontant v. Aristide, 844 F.Supp. 128, 132 (S.D.N.Y.1994); see Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., 473 U.S. 614, 631, 105 S.Ct. 3346, 3356, 87 L.Ed.2d 444 (1985). Thus, it may be permissible to prescribe and enforce rules of law in a foreign country, but unreasonable to do so in a particular manner because of the intrusiveness of a particular type of sanction. That is the case here: the district court had the power to sanction the Republic for its wrongdoing, but it should not have entered the injunctive provisions at issue here.

The mere fact of sovereignty does not insulate a litigant from sanction for failure to abide by the rules governing litigation in American courts. It would be perverse to allow a foreign sovereign litigant to "take our law free from the claims of justice." National City Bank of New York v. Republic of China, 348 U.S. 356, 362, 75 S.Ct. 423, 427, 99 L.Ed. 389 (1955). The Republic's actions, although taken in a foreign country, undeniably had effects in the United States. Under general principles of international law, a tribunal may prescribe laws with respect to "conduct outside its territory that has or is intended to have substantial effect within its territory." Restatement (Third) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States Sec. 402(c) (1987) (the "Restatement"). And where a court may prescribe, it may also enforce. Id. Sec. 431(1) ("A state may employ judicial or nonjudicial measures to induce or compel compliance or punish non-compliance with its laws or regulations, provided it has jurisdiction to prescribe in accordance with Secs. 402 and 403"); see also United States v. Davis, 767 F.2d 1025, 1036 (2d Cir.1985). Thus, because the district court found that the Republic's actions compromised the court's ability to adjudicate fairly the claims before it, the district court had the power to address the retaliatory conduct notwithstanding that it transpired on foreign soil half a world away.

However, any exercise of jurisdiction to prescribe and enforce sanctions based on the effects of foreign activity in a domestic court requires the court to balance the interests it seeks to protect against the interests of any other sovereign that might exercise authority over the same conduct. See Romero v. Int'l Terminal Operating Co., 358 U.S. 354, 383, 79 S.Ct. 468, 486, 3 L.Ed.2d 368 (1959) (interpreting Jones Act in light of "due recognition of our self-regarding respect for the relevant interests of foreign nations in the regulation of maritime commerce"); Mannington Mills, Inc. v. Congoleum Corp., 595 F.2d 1287, 1296 (3d Cir.1979) (noting with respect to United States antitrust laws that "[w]hen foreign nations are involved ... it is unwise to ignore the fact that foreign policy, reciprocity, comity, and limitations of judicial power are considerations that should have a bearing on the decision to exercise or decline jurisdiction"); Timberlane Lumber Co. v. Bank of America, 549 F.2d 597, 613 (9th Cir.1976) (endorsing "jurisdictional rule of reason" in potential extraterritorial application of United States antitrust laws); Restatement Secs. 402, 403. Consequently, although the courts of appeals have occasionally approved orders issued by district courts enjoining activities or judicial proceedings in foreign countries that would interfere with the proper exercise of district court jurisdiction, they have recognized that such action must be exercised only in rare cases, and must be premised on a thorough analysis of the interests at stake.12

This balancing is evident in the principal cases advanced by both the Republic and Westinghouse in support or their respective positions. For example, in United States v. Davis, 767 F.2d 1025 (2d Cir.1985), Davis, a United States citizen, was charged with money laundering. Prior to trial, the United States government issued a subpoena to the Cayman Islands branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia, directing it to produce documents relating to Davis' activities. When it appeared that the bank would comply with the subpoena, Davis filed an action seeking a temporary restraining order in the Cayman Islands to prevent the bank from disclosing the records, claiming that the district court action was improper and that the bank's compliance with the subpoena would violate a Cayman Islands law. In response, the district court ordered Davis to cease his legal proceedings in the Cayman Islands.

The Second Circuit held that the district court had properly exercised its discretion in enjoining Davis from pursuing the Cayman Islands litigation. Davis,