"U.S. top court mulls pollution dispute over power plant in India", 31 Oct 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared unlikely to revive a lawsuit by villagers in India seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed.  The justices heard an hour of arguments in an appeal by the villagers of a lower court ruling that the International Finance Corp, part of the World Bank Group, was immune from such lawsuits under U.S. law.  Several justices expressed skepticism toward the villagers’ legal argument, signaling the court was likely to back the IFC.  A ruling is due by the end of June...

...The IFC expressed concern that a ruling against the organization could invite similar lawsuits targeting it and other international development banks.  Justice Stephen Breyer appeared to sympathize...Justice Elena Kagan said the IFC’s interpretation of the scope of immunity appears to “make a lot more sense.”...President Donald Trump’s administration backed the plaintiffs, saying international organizations should not be given anything more than the limited immunity foreign countries are accorded...One of the nine justices did not participate in the case...