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U.S. Supreme Court
Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654 (1981)
Dames & Moore v. Regan
No. 80-2078
Argued June 24, 1981
Decided July 2, 1981
453 U.S. 654
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JUSTICE REHNQUIST delivered the opinion of the Court.
I
On November 4, 1979, the American Embassy in Tehran was seized and our diplomatic personnel were captured and held hostage. In response to that crisis, President Carter, acting pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 91 Stat. 1626, 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1706 (1976 ed., Supp. III) (hereinafter IEEPA), declared a national emergency on November 14, 1979, [Footnote 1] and blocked the removal or transfer of
"all...
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1) Up through 1/2021, this case stands out as the only Supreme Court case in history interpreting and centering around the scope of IEEPA as it relates to OFAC-administered sanctions regulations and IEEPA’s general grant of Presidential authority.
2) With the following exceptions, the background and procedural posture underlying the case are generally irrelevant to OFAC's subsequent administration of sanction and ordinary compliance concerns.
2a) OFAC'S AUTHORITY TO REGULATE LITIGATION INVOLVING BLOCKED PERSONS AND/OR THEIR PROPERTY
The court in Dames & Moore upheld OFAC's authority to nullify attachments of property in which blocked persons had an interest as being within the scope of IEEPA. Its treatment of the question of whether OFAC could "settle claims" of U.S. persons against Iran, and in doing so prevent claims from being brought in...