Supreme Court Denies Cert. in Holocaust Vatican Bank Case

Still more news today on Holocaust litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in the Ninth Circuit case of Alperin v. Vatican Bank. The order list is here. The Ninth Circuit ruled earlier this year that the property claims by plaintiffs should not be dismissed under the political question doctrine but that the “war objective claims” should be dismissed. The Alperin case is arguably the most important outstanding Holocaust litigation case.

But more broadly, the Ninth Circuit decision is a complicated one that deserves serious consideration regarding the scope of the political question doctrine under ATS litigation.

Dan Collins at Munger, Tolles & Olson was on the brief for the Vatican Bank. My colleague Lee Boyd of Pepperdine was counsel of record for the plaintiffs. I don’t mean to be pushing our book yet again, but Lee Boyd has a chapter in Holocaust Restitution discussing the Alperin case.