Retter v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-08495
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Retter v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Judge Cronan adjourned the initial pretrial conference to give Venezuela more time to answer.
The order affected Daniel Retter, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the scheduling of the initial pretrial conference.
What happened
In Retter v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Daniel Retter asked to postpone the initial pretrial conference because Venezuela had not appeared or answered and he intended to seek class certification or a default judgment.
Retter said Venezuela was served on November 19, 2020. The court explained that, under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a foreign state generally has 60 days to answer, so Venezuela’s deadline appeared to be January 18, 2021, assuming service was proper.
Judge John P. Cronan postponed the conference from January 14 to February 23, 2021. The court did not decide whether service was proper; it said that if Venezuela still had not appeared and Retter sought a default judgment, he would need to explain why his method of service complied with the Act.
The detailed version
- Retter v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela · No. 1:20-cv-08495
- John Cronan
- Jan. 6, 2021
Background
Daniel Retter, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, sent a letter asking the Court to adjourn the initial pretrial conference scheduled for January 14, 2021. Retter stated that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela had failed to appear, answer, or otherwise defend the action and that he intended to seek class certification and/or default judgment.
Retter represented that service of process occurred on November 19, 2020. The Court explained that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provides the method for serving a foreign state and gives a foreign state 60 days to answer a complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1608(d). Assuming service was proper, the Court said Venezuela’s deadline had not expired and that it had until January 18, 2021, to answer.
Ruling
Judge John P. Cronan ordered that the January 14 initial pretrial conference be adjourned to February 23, 2021, at 10:30 a.m., to give Venezuela additional time to appear and answer before the conference. The Court did not determine whether service was proper. It ordered that, if Venezuela did not appear by February 23 and Retter sought default judgment, Retter would have to file a letter of no more than two pages explaining why his chosen method of service was proper under the FSIA when filing a proposed certificate of default.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.