Levin v. Bank of New York
- James Oetken
- 1:09-cv-05900
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Levin v. Islamic Republic of Iran, Judge Oetken directed the clerk to issue a writ allowing the Levins to enforce their partially unpaid judgments.
The order affected the Levins and their trusts as judgment creditors, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the other Iranian judgment debtors, the court clerk, and potentially the identified Iranian-related assets held by JPMorgan Chase in the district.
What happened
In Levin v. Islamic Republic of Iran, the plaintiffs held judgments totaling $28,807,719 against Iran and two Iranian entities. The judgments arose from an earlier case and remained partly unpaid.
The plaintiffs asked the court to authorize enforcement against Iranian assets, including blocked assets held in this district by JPMorgan Chase, N.A. and/or JPMorgan Chase & Co. The court found that more than 14 years had passed since the judgments and required notice, making the waiting period reasonable.
The court ordered the clerk to issue a writ of execution for the property identified by the plaintiffs and authorized additional enforcement writs consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69. Judge J. Paul Oetken signed the order.
The detailed version
- Levin v. Bank of New York · No. 1:09-cv-05900
- James Oetken
- June 2, 2022
Background
The plaintiffs were Dr. Lucille Levin, the late Jeremy Levin, and Suzelle M. Smith, individually and as trustee of two trusts. The opinion refers to them as the judgment creditors or the Levins.
On February 6, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered judgments totaling $28,807,719 against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian Ministry of Information and Security, and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with their agencies and instrumentalities. The judgments were entered in an action brought under 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(7). The plaintiffs were also entitled to interest after judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1961.
The plaintiffs gave notice of the judgments through court and diplomatic channels on October 14, 2008. They registered the judgment in the Southern District of New York on April 20, 2009, and later renewed the judgment in that court on January 3, 2019. In 2012, Dr. Lucille Levin and Jeremy Levin transferred their rights and interests in the judgments to two revocable trusts and appointed Suzelle M. Smith as trustee.
The judgments remained partly unpaid. The plaintiffs identified assets belonging to the Iranian judgment debtors and their agencies and instrumentalities, including blocked assets held in this district by JPMorgan Chase, N.A. and/or JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Court’s Findings
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1610(c), the court found that a reasonable period had passed before enforcement could proceed. The court relied on the more than 14 years between entry of the judgments, notice to the Iranian judgment debtors, and registration of the judgment in this district.
Order
The court ordered the clerk to issue a writ of execution for the property identified by the plaintiffs in satisfaction of § 1610(c). It also authorized and directed the clerk to issue additional writs supporting enforcement when warranted under, and consistent with, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69. The opinion does not state that the identified assets had already been seized or transferred to the plaintiffs.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.