D.C. Circuit Holds That CFIUS Must Provide Due Process Before Prohibiting A Transaction

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has issued a landmark opinion granting due process rights to parties whose transactions have been blocked or suspended by the President of the United States following a national security review and investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS" or the "Committee"). By reversing the district court's dismissal of claims against CFIUS and the President in Ralls Corp v. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, No. 13-5315 (D.C. Cir. July 15, 2014), the panel confirmed that the Ralls Corporation ("Ralls" or the "Company") had acquired property with vested constitutional rights to due process, which CFIUS and the President failed to provide during the course of the CFIUS review. In doing so, the D.C. Circuit also determined that CFIUS mitigation orders are subject to constitutional challenges even though the Exon-Florio Amendment to the Defense Production Act ("DPA"), which