Anyone who has a US bank account to which money is sent by a third party, can, in cases concerning that money, be sued by that party in the US.

In an 20 July 2009 post, I asked how the US courts could have jurisdiction in the dispute between the Saudi conglomerates Algosaibi and Saad Group. (1)

The only possible answer I could come up with was that Saad Group’s debts to Algosaibi were denominated in Saudi riyal, that the riyal is pegged to the US dollar and that, therefore, the US courts have jurisdiction. (1, again)

I said that if this was the case, then new ground was being broken in the area of the conflict of laws. (1, again)

Abu Dhabi’s The National newspaper carries the following story:

Mashreq takes Al Gosaibi to US court
Asa Fitch
Last Updated: August 20, 2009 4:42PM GMT
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090820/BUSINESS/708209926/1005
SNIP
A judge in New York will next week hear arguments in a US$150 million (Dh550.9m) case filed by the Dubai-based Mashreqbank against Ahmad Hamad Al Gosaibi and Brothers, a Saudi conglomerate allegedly hit by a huge fraud.
The case is part of a continuing tussle between Al Gosaibi and its creditors, [...]
+
The lawsuit was filed in the US because Mashreq sent its $150m to an Al Gosaibi account in New York. UNSNIP

So Mashreqbank says that it is because Algosaibi has a bank account in New York,
bank account to which Mashreqbank sent the money,
that Algosaibi can be taken to court in new York.

More new ground is being broken in the area of the conflict of laws; the US requirements of justice or the requirements of US justice demand that anyone who has a US bank account to which money is sent by a third party, can, in cases concerning that money, be sued by that party in the US.

Ivo Cerckel
honestmoney@maktoob.com
http://twitter.com/ivocerckel/

NOTE

(1)
FT and Reuters break new ground in conflict of laws
Posted by Ivo Cerckel on July 20th, 2009
http://bphouse.com/honest_money/2009/07/20/ft-new-ground/
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