Profile
Dr. Kemner specializes in civil litigation, particularly in cases with a significant international component. Areas of expertise include product liability, class action, ATCA claims, and commercial litigation primarily for European manufacturers, in litigation in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.
He also represents German clients in US. litigation involving software copyright violations, tortious interference, trade mark, and related claims.
Dr. Kemner also specializes in international law, challenging personal jurisdiction of US courts over non-US defendants.
He represents parties appearing before International Arbitration Panels in large-scale business disputes, including a German submarine manufacturer in dispute with Government of Iran.
Business and Transactional
Dr. Kemner represented Fisher Investments in a purchase acquisition of a German investment company/future subsidiary.
He has also assisted European clients in the formation and acquisition of international subsidiary companies in Europe, Africa, and the United States.
Additionally, Dr. Kemner represents clients in an array of commercial negotiations, including ship purchasing, alternative energy contract negotiations, mergers and acquisitions.
Dr. Kemner specialized in oil and gas/energy investment protection in the energy sector in the former Soviet Union and Central Europe.
He also served for two years as a full-time fellow in Sonderforschungsbereich 178, a German "think tank" focusing on issues of international law and economics, including projects of pure research as well as representation of clients in areas of international commercial law.
Recent Published Decisions - Challenging Jurisdiction of US Courts Over Foreign Manufacturers
Bauman, 579 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir. 2009); 2007 WL 486389 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 12, 2007) & 2005 WL 3157472 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 22, 2005) (dismissal and affirmance on pleadings of claims under Alien Tort Statute and Torture Victims Protection Act).
Robinson, 2008 WL 728877 (N.D Cal. March 17, 2008).
Anchia, 230 S.W. 3d 493 (Tex. Ct. App. 2007).
Presentations and Publications
"US Gerichtszuständigkeit für Deutsche Mandanten," D.A.J.V. (Berlin, September 2005).
"Personal Jurisdiction and Hague Convention Issues in U.S. Litigation," International Law Firm Network (San Francisco, April 2005).
The Strengths and Weaknesses of the European Energy Charter Treaty, Doctoral Dissertation (1996, Universität Konstanz).
The Enduring Political Nature of Questions of State Succession and Secession, 17 U. Pa. J. Int'l Bus. L. 753 (1996).
Die Auswirkungen des genuine-link-Grundsatzes auf die Anerkennung US-Amerikanischer Gesellschaften in Deutschland, 12/95 ZIP 972 (1995).
Rescheduling the Sovereign Debt: A New Role for the Paris Club, 10 J. Int'l Banking L. 280 1995).
Personal Bankruptcy and the Myth of the Unchecked Homestead Exemption, 56 Mo. L. Rev. 683 (1991).