*The Honorable Thomas L. Ludington, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of
Michigan, sitting by designation.
RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206
File Name: 09a0102p.06
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
_________________
ANA CHAVEZ, CECILIA SANTOS, JOSE
CALDERON, ERLINDA FRANCO, and DANIEL
ALVARADO,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
NICOLAS CARRANZA,
Defendant-Appellant.
X---->
,-----N
No. 06-6234
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Tennessee at Memphis.
No. 03-02932—Jon Phipps McCalla, Chief District Judge.
Argued: October 28, 2008
Decided and Filed: March 17, 2009
Before: SILER and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges; LUDINGTON, District Judge.*
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COUNSEL
ARGUED: Robert M. Fargarson, Bruce D. Brooke, FARGARSON & BROOKE,
Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellant. Matthew J. Sinback, BASS, BERRY & SIMS,
Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellees. John C. Kiyonaga, ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Alexandria, Virginia, for Amicus Curiae. ON BRIEF: Robert M. Fargarson, Bruce D.
Brooke, FARGARSON & BROOKE, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellant. David R.
Esquivel, BASS, BERRY & SIMS, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellees. John C.
Kiyonaga, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Alexandria, Virginia, for Amicus Curiae.
1
No. 06-6234
Chavez, et al. v. Carranza
Page 2
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OPINION
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SILER, Circuit Judge. Defendant Nicolas Carranza appeals a jury verdict
awarding compensatory and punitive damages to victims of torture, extrajudicial killing,
and crimes against humanity in violation of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), also called the
Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA).
Carranza argues that the district court abused its discretion by (1) holding that
extraordinary circumstances justified equitable tolling of the statute of limitations,
(2) not granting comity to the Salvadoran Amnesty Law, and (3) making various
evidentiary rulings. He also contends that the district court erred in its instructio