While Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government and several other Chinese entities, what comes next is complicated, and experts said it’s unlikely the state will ever collect any money from the suit.

The attorney general, through his Deputy Justin Smith, asked a federal judge in St. Louis for punitive and actual damages among other relief in a court filing on Tuesday.

Problematically for the state, foreign governments generally enjoy “sovereign immunity” in U.S. courts, meaning they can’t be sued. However, according to multiple professors who interviewed with News-Press NOW on Thursday, the state’s position can’t necessarily be shrugged off as a political stunt.

Missouri also sued other Chinese entities in addition to the government, meaning the lawsuit could proceed even if a judge determines the Chinese government can’t be sued for its actions. Even so, it’s possible that none of the defendants in the lawsuit will respond and the court has limited ability to compel them.

“I don’t think China will show up,” David Tushaus, a Missouri Western State University professor, said. “I don’t argue with the facts in the lawsuit. And that’s really not the point I’m making. The point I’m making is you got to have jurisdiction. First, you have to have personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction.”

Read more at newspressnow.com.