Havlish v. Bin-Laden
- George Daniels
- 1:03-cv-09848
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Havlish v. Bin-Laden, Judge Daniels granted plaintiffs’ motion to use a private process server while marshals’ service was suspended.
The Havlish plaintiffs, Clearstream Banking S.A., and the private process server appointed to serve the writs. The order also concerns the Southern District of New York Marshal Service’s role in serving the execution documents.
What happened
In Havlish v. Bin-Laden, the plaintiffs held judgments against Iran and fifteen other defendants, including Iran’s central bank. The court had authorized them to pursue assets held by Clearstream Banking S.A. and had issued a writ of execution directed to Clearstream.
The plaintiffs asked to use Classic Legal Support Services, Inc. to serve the writ and any replacement writs because the Southern District of New York Marshal Service had stopped serving process during COVID-19-related precautions. The plaintiffs agreed to pay the private server’s costs.
Judge George Daniels granted the motion. He authorized the plaintiffs to use Classic Legal Support Services to serve the April 27, 2020 writ, any reissued writs, and related documents on Clearstream until the Marshal Service resumed serving writs and cleared its backlog.
The detailed version
- Havlish v. Bin-Laden · No. 1:03-cv-09848
- George Daniels
- Sept. 8, 2020
Background
The Havlish plaintiffs are representatives of estates and individual family members of decedents. The opinion states that they hold judgments issued by this court against the Islamic Republic of Iran and fifteen additional defendants, including the Central Bank of Iran, also known as Bank Markazi.
The court had authorized the plaintiffs to enforce their judgments under 28 U.S.C. § 1610(c). It specifically authorized enforcement in the Southern District of New York against Bank Markazi assets held by Clearstream Banking S.A. The court also authorized restraining notices directed to Clearstream under New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 5222.
On April 27, 2020, the clerk issued a writ of execution directed to Clearstream under New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 5225. A writ of execution is a court document used to enforce a money judgment. The writ directed the Southern District of New York Marshal Service to enforce and satisfy the money judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69.
The Motion
The opinion states that, because of COVID-19-related precautions, the Marshal Service was not serving process, including writs of execution, and had provided no estimate for when service would resume. The plaintiffs therefore asked the court to appoint Classic Legal Support Services, Inc., a private process server retained and paid for by the plaintiffs.
The requested authorization covered the April 27, 2020 writ, any new, additional, or reissued writs, and documents related to those writs. The court relied on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4.1(a), which permits a court to specially appoint someone other than a United States marshal or deputy marshal to serve process. The opinion also noted that New York executive orders had temporarily extended tolling of certain deadlines for service and other legal proceedings through September 4, 2020.
Ruling
Judge George Daniels granted the Havlish plaintiffs’ motion to serve writs of execution by a private process server. The order authorized the plaintiffs, at their own expense, to have Classic Legal Support Services, Inc. serve the April 27, 2020 writ of execution, any reissued writs of execution, and associated documents on Clearstream Banking S.A.
The authorization remains in effect until the United States Marshal Service resumes serving writs of execution and clears its existing backlog of service obligations or other courthouse duties. The order does not decide the underlying judgments or the plaintiffs’ entitlement to the assets; it addresses only who may serve the execution documents.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.