Wyatt v. Syrian Arab Republic

(1) Whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act"s requirement that a default judgment against a foreign state be served on that state in a specified manner (28 U.S.C. § 1608(e)) is merely hortatory, and noncompliance without any consequence, when the judgment creditors rely on any enforcement mechanism other than 28 U.S.C. § 1610(a) or (b); and (2) whether a district court retains jurisdiction, after the proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal, to enter an order under 28 U.S.C. § 2042 authorizing funds deposited into the district court"s registry to be withdrawn in favor of one of the parties to the appeal in resolution of the very issue being debated on appeal.