SCOTUS sides with family suing Spain over art taken by Nazis in 9-0 ruling

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in favor of the descendants of a German Jewish family who are suing a museum controlled by the Spanish government over possession of a painting that had been taken by Nazis.

"The question presented is what choice-of-law rule the court should use to determine the applicable substantive law. The answer is: whatever choice-of-law rule the court would use if the defendant were not a foreign-state actor, but instead a private party," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court's opinion. "Here, that means applying the forum State’s choice-of-law rule, not a rule deriving from federal common law."