Anderson Kill succeeded in obtaining a dismissal of its client, Centea Bank, from a case filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Centea, which is a subsidiary of KBC Bank, operates exclusively in Belgium.

The plaintiff sought to obtain jurisdiction over Centea in New York by claiming that its parent, KBC Bank, which does business in New York, was an agent for Centea. The plaintiff also claimed that Centea was merely a department or division of its parent, and that service of process on the parent would be effective service on Centea. The District Court ruled that Centea was not a mere department or division of KBC Bank, and that KBC Bank was not an agent of Centea. Moreover, the court denied the plaintiff the opportunity to take discovery on the jurisdictional issues. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the holding of the lower court.