(United States Ninth Circuit) - In an action seeking to protect plaintiff's copyright in photographs of Pablo Picasso's artworks,and to enforce a French judgment of two million euros in astreinte in federal court against defendant-American art editor under the California Uniform Foreign-Court Monetary Judgment Recognition Act, the District Court's Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) dismissal is reversed where: 1) Fed. R. Civ. P. 44.1 authorizes district courts to consider foreign legal materials -- including expert testimony and declarations -- external the pleadings in rulings on a motion to dismiss because Rule 44.1 treats foreign law determinations as questions of law, and not fact; and 2) the district court erred in concluding that the award of an astreinte in this case constituted a 'fine or other penalty' for the purposes of California's Uniform Recognition Act.
Source: findlaw.com