The plaintiff, Bombardier Inc., sued the Republic of Estonia and its state-owned airline, Estonian Air, alleging tortious interference in an aircraft purchase agreement.
The Republic brought a motion to stay the action against it, claiming state immunity under the State Immunity Act.
The court found that the Republic's waiver of immunity in a shareholders' agreement did not extend to the plaintiff, a non-party.
Furthermore, the commercial activity exception did not apply, as the Republic's role as a shareholder was not inherently commercial in the context of the transaction, and there was no evidence of the state unlawfully interfering with the purchase.
The motion was granted and the action against the Republic was permanently stayed.
