Broidy Capital Management v. State of Qatar, No. 18-56256 (9th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this Case
Plaintiffs Elliot Broidy and his investment firm filed suit against the State of Qatar and various other defendants after Qatari agents allegedly hacked into plaintiffs' computer servers, stole their confidential information, and leaked it to the media in a retaliatory effort to embarrass plaintiff and thereby to neutralize his ability to continue to effectively criticize the Qatari regime and its alleged support of terrorism.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). The panel concluded that neither the FSIA's exception to immunity for tortious activity nor its exception for commercial activity applied in this case and thus Qatar was immune from jurisdiction. The panel explained that all of plaintiffs' tort claims were barred under the discretionary function exclusion from the tortious activity exception because the challenged conduct was discretionary in nature or involved an element of judgment or choice, and the judgment was of the kind that the exception was designed to shield. Furthermore, plaintiffs' claims were based on the alleged surreptitious intrusion into their servers and email accounts in order to obtain information and the dissemination of such information to others, including persons in the media. The panel explained that such conduct did not qualify as commercial activity under the FSIA.
Court Description: Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, of an action brought against the State of Qatar, alleging violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other causes of action. The panel held that neither the FSIA’s exception to immunity for tortious activity nor its exception for commercial activity applied, and the State of Qatar therefore was immune from jurisdiction. The panel concluded that all of plaintiffs’ tort claims were barred under the discretionary function exclusion from the tortious activity exception because the challenged conduct met two criteria: (1) it was discretionary in nature or involved an element of judgment or choice; and (2) the judgment was of the kind that the exception was designed to shield. The first criterion was met because there was no showing that Qatari or international law proscribed Qatar’s actions. The second criterion was met because Qatar’s alleged actions involved considerations of public policy. Plaintiffs argued that the commercial activity exception applied because their action was based upon a commercial activity carried on in the United States by Qatar. The panel concluded that plaintiffs’ claims were based on the alleged BROIDY CAPITAL MGMT. V. STATE OF QATAR 3 surreptitious intrusion into their servers and email accounts in order to obtain information and the dissemination of such information to others, including persons in the media, and this conduct did not qualify as commercial activity within the meaning of the FSIA.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.