Stichting Ter behartiging Van de Belangen Van Oudaandeelhouders in Het Kapitaal Van Saybolt International Besloten Vennootschap v. Schreiber
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
327 F.3d 173 (2003)
Saybolt North America (plaintiff), on its attorney Philippe Schreiber's (defendant) advice that using a foreign affiliate to make the payment would avoid FCPA liability, arranged a payment from a Panamanian affiliate to a Panamanian official to secure a land lease; the advice was wrong, and Saybolt pleaded guilty to an FCPA violation. Saybolt then sued Schreiber for malpractice, arguing his bad advice caused it to unknowingly violate the statute; the district court granted Schreiber summary judgment on collateral-estoppel grounds, reasoning the guilty plea itself admitted knowledge of the violation. Saybolt appealed.
Whether a corporation's guilty plea to a charge for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act collaterally estops the corporation from asserting that it did not know it was violating the statute.