Supreme Court Tosses Ruling Against Germany in Nazi-Era Art Dispute

The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a lower court ruling that had let a lawsuit proceed in the United States against Germany over claims that its former Nazi government coerced Jewish art dealers to sell a collection of medieval religious art in 1935 for far less than its value.

In a 9-0 decision, the justices ruled that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a federal law that limits the jurisdiction of American courts over lawsuits against foreign governments, bars the claims brought against a German agency that administers state museums. The justices ordered a lower courts to reconsider other arguments made in the lawsuit.