Brown, Goldstein & Levy attorneys Anthony May and Andy Freeman filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on behalf of Professor Vivian Grosswald Curran, supporting the plaintiffs in two important cases on behalf of Hungarian Jews whose property was confiscated during World War II. The plaintiffs are Holocaust survivors who seek compensation for property that was unlawfully seized from them in violation of international law.
The plaintiffs sued the Republic of Hungary and other defendants in federal court in the United States seeking class certification and class-wide damages for property taken from them during World War II. Instead of first filing a lawsuit in Hungary, they invoked an exemption under the Federal Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) that would allow them to proceed in a United States federal court. The district court dismissed the suit, ruling that FSIA’s treaty exception did not apply. Plaintiffs appealed, arguing that Hungary did not consider them to be Hungarian nationals at the time their property was taken from them, but merely subjects of Hungary, based on their mistreatment and degradation as Jewish citizens.
In the brief, Anthony and Andy put forward Professor Curran’s explanation of why the Court of Appeals should reverse the of the district court dismissing plaintiffs’ complaints and find that plaintiffs were not citizens of Hungary at the time of the takings because, regardless of whether the plaintiffs considered themselves Hungarian citizens, the Republic of Hungary did not. The brief examines the heinous treatment of Hungarian Jews leading up to the Holocaust and how Hungary stripped them of their basic rights and identity. It discusses how the Republic of Hungary should not be immune from suit merely because, years later, it acknowledged its mistreatment of Jews within its boundaries.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ANDY FREEMAN
Andy Freeman is known for obtaining justice for his clients. He has won numerous verdicts, judgments, and settlements of millions, tens of millions, and in one case, over a billion dollars by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems, and the evidence in their cases. Other lawyers bring Andy cases that present complicated combinations of law and facts or that require making new law.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ANTHONY MAY
Anthony May has represented clients in a variety of complex litigation matters including assisting employees with disabilities in obtaining accessible technology and accommodations in the workplace, representing individuals who have been wrongfully convicted, commercial litigation disputes, and fighting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.