Devas v. Antrix: Ninth Circuit Requires Minimum Contacts For Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign States

The Ninth Circuit's February 6, 2024, decision denying rehearing en banc of Devas v. Antrix and upholding its earlier ruling to overturn the enforcement of a $1.3 billion arbitration award diverges significantly from the jurisprudence of other federal circuit courts, and impacts individuals and entities looking to enforce arbitration awards in federal courts within the Ninth Circuit. In Devas, the Ninth Circuit found that award creditors looking to enforce arbitration awards against foreign states and their agencies must prove, in addition to the personal jurisdiction requirements of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), that the award debtor has minimum contacts with the United States.¹ The Ninth Circuit is the only federal appeals court to require the minimum contacts test for personal jurisdiction over a foreign state.