Supreme Court Holds Remand Order not Reviewable Based on Question of Company’s Status as a Foreign Sovereign

The U.S. Supreme Court held that no appeal of the district court's remand order was available in Powerex Corp. v. Reliant Energy Services, Inc., 127 S.Ct. 2411 (June 18, 2007).  Plaintiffs filed state-court suits alleging that various companies in California's energy market had conspired to fix prices.  Some defendants cross-claimed for indemnity from two U.S. government agencies, and from a corporation wholly owned by the British Columbian government and its wholly owned subsidiary, Powerex. 

The cross-defendants removed the case from state court to federal district court, but the district court remanded, holding that the cross-claims against the two U.S. government agencies and the British Columbian corporation were barred by sovereign immunity.  The Court also held that Powerex could not remove the case to federal court under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act because it was not a foreign state, as it was not an "organ of a foreign state or political subdivision thereof." 

On appeal of the remand by Powerex, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the holding that Powerex was not a foreign state under the FSIA.  The United States Supreme Court then held that no appeal of the district court's decision was available, and remanded the case in conformance with the district court's decision.  The Supreme Court cited Congress’s “longstanding policy of not permitting interruption of the litigation of the merits of a removed case by prolonged litigation of questions of jurisdiction of the district court to which the cause is removed.”