7
cannot prevail on the merits of her claim without first
demonstrating that she acquired passenger status prior to her
injury, we think that issue irrelevant to the jurisdictional
question before us. Under the commercial activity exception as
interpreted by Nelson, we must determine whether the ticket sale
is one of “those elements of a claim that, if proven, would entitle
[Kirkham] to relief under [her] theory of the case.” 507 U.S. at
357. The district court appears to have thought that “elements”
refers only to the primary components of Kirkham’s negligence
claim, i.e., duty of care, breach of duty of care, and proximate
causation between that breach and the alleged injury. See, e.g.,
Wilson v. Good Humor Corp., 757 F.2d 1293, 1297 n.3 (D.C.
Cir. 1985) (laying out the elements of a negligence claim). For
reasons explained below, we think it more consistent with
Nelson and the FSIA to read “elements” as referring to each fact
necessary to establish a claim. In other words, so long as the
alleged commercial activity establishes a fact without which the
plaintiff will lose, the commercial activity exception applies,
regardless of whether the plaintiff has either alleged or provided
sufficient evidence of the additional facts necessary to prevail on
the merits. See Santos v. Compagnie Nationale Air France, 934
F.2d 890, 893 (7th Cir. 1991) (“An action is based upon the
elements that prove the claim, no more and no less.”), cited with
approval in Nelson, 507 U.S. at 357; Nazarian v. Compagnie
Nationale Air France, 989 F. Supp. 504, 508 (S.D.N.Y. 1998)
(“In sum, this Court has subject-matter jurisdiction [under the
FSIA] over any claims made by the plaintiffs in which the
elements of the claim require proof of Air France’s commercial
activity in the United States.”).
Again, we agree that Kirkham will lose if she fails to show
that Air France owed her a duty of care at the time of the
accident. But she will also lose if she fails to show that the blue-
uniformed man acted negligently or that his negligence
proximately caused her injury. The problem with the district