The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act creates a presumption of immunity for foreign sovereigns, with certain exceptions. One is when the foreign sovereign engages in commercial activity in the US and the plaintiff’s claims are based on that activity. In its recent en banc decision in Sachs v. Republic of Austria, the Ninth Circuit held that the commercial activity exception applies, and federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction over a personal injury suit, when the agent of a foreign state-owned common carrier sells a train ticket in the US and the passenger is injured while boarding the train abroad.