86-2448, 86-15039
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Trajano v. Marcos
878 F.2d 1439 (9th Cir. 1989)
Decided Jul 10, 1989
Before GOODWIN, Chief Judge, BEEZER and
1439 *1439 878 F.2d 1439 (9th Cir. 1989) Agapita DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judges.
TRAJANO, etc., et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v.
MEMORANDUM *
Ferdinand E. MARCOS, et al., Defendants-
Appellees. Maximo HILAO, et al., Plaintiffs- * This disposition is not appropriate for
Appellants, v. Ferdinand E. MARCOS, et al., publication and may not be cited to or by
Defendants-Appellees. Florentina SISON, et al., the courts of this circuit except as provided
Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Ferdinand E. by Ninth Cir.R. 36-3.
MARCOS, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
Several groups of plaintiffs filed this consolidated
Fluellen M. ORTIGAS, et al., Plaintiffs-
appeal challenging the orders of district courts in
Appellants, v. Ferdinand E. MARCOS, et al.,
Hawaii and California dismissing their suits
Defendants-Appellees. Vicente CLEMENTE, et
against former Philippine president Ferdinand E.
al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Ferdinand E.
Marcos, and others, as nonjusticiable under the act
MARCOS, et al., Defendants-Appellees. Nos.
of state doctrine. The appellants allege that
86-2448, 86-15039. United States Court of
Marcos and his agents committed various torts
Appeals, Ninth Circuit July 10, 1989
against them and their family members by
Editorial Note:
carrying out acts of torture. We deferred
This opinion appears in the Federal reporter in a submission pending the decision of this court in
table titled "Table of Decisions Without Reported Republic of the Philippines v. Marcos, 862 F.2d
Opinions". (See FI CTA9 Rule 36-3 regarding use 1355 (9th Cir.1988) (en banc), cert. denied, 109
of unpublished opinions) S.Ct. 1933 (1989). We now reverse and remand.
Argued and Submitted June 10, 1987. Submission I
Deferred June 12, 1987.
A. The Complaints
Resubmitted July 10, 1989.
1. Sison
N.D.Cal.
In Sison v. Marcos, Florentina Sison, Ramon
REVERSED AND REMANDED. Sison, and Jose Maria Sison sued in the district of
Hawaii on behalf of Francisco Sison, the son of
On Appeal From the United States District Court
Florentina and the brother of Ramon and Jose
for the District of Hawaii. Harold M. Fong, Chief
Maria. They alleged various torts, including
District Judge, Presiding.
wrongful death and the intentional infliction of
On Appeal From the United States District Court emotional distress, stemming from the torture and
for the Northern District of Ca lifornia. Spencer murder of Francisco Sison in 1971, allegedly at
M. Williams, District Judge, Presiding. the direction of Marcos and codefendant Fabian C.
1
Trajano v. Marcos 878 F.2d 1439 (9th Cir. 1989)
Ver, former Military Chief of Staff of the Republic in some cases tortured, in violation of the law of
of the Philippines. In addition, Jose Maria Sison nations.
sued for assault and battery, false imprisonment,
5. Clemente
and other torts arising out of his detention and
torture between 1977 and 1986. Jaime S. Clemente is an action by eight Philippine citizens,
Piopongco also joined in Sison, suing for assault; one of whom had dual American citizenship,
interference with and destruction of a business, alleging the same cause of action as Ortigas.
and violations of the law of nations arising out of
B. Proceedings in the District Court
the closure of his radio station upon the
declaration of martial law in 1972, and his Sison, Hilao, and Trajano came before Judge Fong
subsequent arrest and torture. in the district of Hawaii. In each case, Marcos
moved for dismissal on a variety of grounds
Ramon Sison and Piopongco are United States
pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The district
citizens. The other plaintiffs are citizens of the
court reviewed the possible jurisdictional bases for
Philippines.
hearing the case, noting in particular that it
2. Trajano assumed that the Ninth Circuit would follow the
holding of the Second Circuit that the federal
In Trajano, Agapita Trajano, a citizen of the
courts have jurisdiction over a case alleging
Philippines, sued Marcos, Ver, and Marcos'
torture under the alien tort statute, 28 U.S.C. §
daughter Imee Marcos, alleging that the
1350. See Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876
defendants were responsible for the kidnapping,
(2d Cir.1980).
torture and murder of her son Archimedes Trajano
in 1977. Trajano alleged false imprisonment, The court was not required to reach the question
wrongful death, kidnapping, and violation of of jurisdiction, however, as it held the cases
international law on behalf of Archimedes' estate, nonjusticiable under the act of state doctrine. The
and the intentional infliction of emotional distress court stated that the inquiry these cases would
for her own suffering on being shown the tortured require into the official acts of a foreign head of
body of her son. state was beyond the capacity or function of the
federal courts. Judge Spencer Williams of the
3. Hilao
Northern District of California repeated Judge
Hilao is a class action in the district of Hawaii by Fong's analysis in his dismissal of Ortigas and
the alleged victims or personal representatives of Clemente under the act of state doctrine.
victims of torture perpetrated by Marcos. The
All plaintiffs timely appealed. Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(a)
complaint alleged that the plaintiffs were
(1). We have jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We
university students and labor organizers who were
review these questions of law de novo.
detained and routinely subjected to electric shock,
beatings, Russian roulette, gang rapes, and in II
some cases murder. They sued for violation of the
The act of state doctrine is the foreign relations
law of nations, seeking compensatory and punitive
equivalent of the political question doctrine. See
damages of $75 million.
Marcos, 862 F.2d at 1360. It is a prudential
4. Ortigas doctrine that prevents the judiciary from
embroiling itself in affairs over which it has little
Ortigas is an action by thirteen Philippine citizens
or no power. Id. In Marcos, we considered the
against Marcos in the northern district of
doctrine's applicability to RICO claims against
California, alleging that they were imprisoned, and
Marcos that alleged, inter alia, theft, fraud and
2
Trajano v. Marcos 878 F.2d 1439 (9th Cir. 1989)
embezzlement of property, both inside and outside We therefore reverse the orders of dismissal, and
the Philippines. Without needing extensive remand for further proceedings. We leave the
analysis of whether the alleged acts constituted other issues, notably the difficult question of
acts of state, we found the doctrine to be of "little jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1350, to the
or no applicability" to the situation of a deposed original consideration of the district courts.
ruler from whom his former domain seeks an
REVERSED and REMANDED.
accounting. Id. at 1360-61. "Once deposed, [a]
dictator will find it difficult to deploy the [act of
state doctrine] successfully." Id. at 1360.
We see no material distinctions between these
cases and Marcos. Marcos is a private citizen
residing in the United States. Neither the present
government of the Republic of the Philippines nor
the United States government objects to judicial
resolution of these claims, or sees any resulting
potential embarrassment to any government. The
issues raised, although extraordinarily complex,
are within the capacity of the courts to resolve.
