Opinion of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Merrill Lynch v. Arelma, Inc., case no. 04-16401, 4 May 2006

An interpleader action which was ruled upon on 4 May 2006, and in which appeal was made by the several parties dissatisfied with the decision of the district court awarding the funds in dispute to the class of human rights victims represented by Mariano Pimental. The court held that the Republic of the Philippines and the Philippines' Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) (collectively, the Republic) were not indispensable parties under Fed. R. Civ. P. 19(b) and affirmed the judgment of the district court as modified in this opinion.