Paraticuara Ltda. v. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
- Vargas
- 1:24-cv-07738
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Paraticuara Ltda. v. Venezuela, Judge Vargas granted more time to serve Venezuela and moved related case deadlines.
Paraticuara Ltda. received additional time to serve The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the case's initial scheduling deadlines were moved.
What happened
Paraticuara Ltda. brought a breach-of-contract case against The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela involving debt securities. Its lawyers asked for more time to serve the summons and complaint because serving a foreign government required use of diplomatic channels.
The lawyers requested a 90-day extension, explaining that the other service methods under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act were unavailable and that diplomatic service could take several months. They also asked to move the upcoming initial pretrial conference.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas found good cause for the late service and granted the motion for an extension under Rule 4(m). She extended the service deadline to April 9, 2025, moved the conference to April 21, 2025, and extended the joint status-letter deadline to April 14, 2025.
The detailed version
- Paraticuara Ltda. v. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela · No. 1:24-cv-07738
- Vargas
- Jan. 10, 2025
Background
Paraticuara Ltda. filed a breach-of-contract action concerning debt securities issued by The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under a 2001 Fiscal Agency Agreement. The plaintiff's lawyers requested a 90-day extension of the deadline to serve the summons and complaint, as well as a corresponding postponement of the initial pretrial conference.
Service Request
The plaintiff's letter stated that Venezuela had to be served under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The letter asserted that the first three statutory service methods were unavailable and that the plaintiff was using the fourth method, service through diplomatic channels. Under that method, the Clerk sends the required documents to the United States Department of State, which transmits them through diplomatic channels. The letter stated that this process could take several months.
Court's Ruling
The court found that the plaintiff had shown good cause for failing to complete service on time. Judge Vargas therefore granted the motion for an extension of time to complete service under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). The court extended the service deadline to April 9, 2025; adjourned the January 13, 2025 initial pretrial conference to April 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.; and extended the joint status-letter deadline, effective as of the earlier date, to April 14, 2025. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate ECF No. 8.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.