Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson
Citation and Court
538 U.S. 468 (2003), Supreme Court of the United States
Facts
Workers from Costa Rica and other countries sued Dole Food and chemical companies alleging injury from a pesticide (DBCP). The chemical companies sought to remove the case to federal court by claiming they were instrumentalities of Israel under the FSIA. Israel had previously owned the companies indirectly through majority ownership of a parent corporation.
Issue
Whether a corporation is an “instrumentality” of a foreign state under the FSIA when the foreign state owns a majority share of a parent company that in turn owns the subsidiary, and whether instrumentality status is determined at the time of suit or at the time of the alleged conduct.
Holding
Instrumentality status under the FSIA requires direct majority ownership by the foreign state; indirect ownership through a corporate chain is insufficient. Instrumentality status is determined at the time suit is filed, not at the time of the alleged conduct.
Rule / Doctrine
Under the FSIA, an entity qualifies as an instrumentality of a foreign state only if the state directly owns a majority of its shares. Indirect or tiered ownership does not confer instrumentality status. Whether status exists is assessed as of the date the complaint is filed.
Significance
Dole Food clarified the scope of FSIA coverage for state-owned enterprises operating through subsidiary structures, making it harder for lower-tier subsidiaries to claim foreign sovereign immunity and shielding litigation against privatized former state enterprises from removal to federal court.