In Human Trafficking Case, Texas Appeals Court Cites Restatement Third, Foreign Relations Law

In a recent case involving claims of human trafficking, a Texas appeals court looked to the Restatement of the Law Third, the Foreign Relations Law of the United States for guidance on how to decide a question of international comity. The suit, Villareal v. International Plant Services, was brought by workers recruited in the Philippines and brought to work in Texas. Defendants moved for dismissal citing principles of international comity. Under the law of the Philippines, they argued, the plaintiffs’ status was governed by the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act, and the Filipino National Labor Relations Commission therefore had exclusive jurisdiction over their claims.

A lower court agreed and dismissed the case, but the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas reversed, citing the eight-factor test outlined in Section 403 of the Restatement for deciding when dismissal based on principles of international comity is appropriate. "Considering all of the Section 403 factors,... we conclude that exercise of jurisdiction over this case by Texas is not unreasonable, and, accordingly, that the trial court erred in dismissing the case," Justice Rebecca A. Huddle wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel.Read the court’s Oct. 28 decision.