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. Venezuela, Judge Cronan required a supplemental affidavit before considering Retter’s default-judgment request.
The order affected Daniel Retter’s request for default judgment against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela by requiring additional sworn proof about the mailings.
What happened
In Retter v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Daniel Retter sought a default judgment after attempts to mail the motion papers to Venezuela were unsuccessful. The court had provisionally allowed service of those papers by email, and Retter served them by email on May 2, 2023.
A local court rule required Retter to mail the papers to Venezuela’s last known business addresses and file proof of the mailing. If the mail was returned, the rule also required a sworn filing explaining that fact and stating the reason for the return, if any. Retter’s lawyer filed a sworn declaration about the mailings, but Retter had not filed the required supplemental declaration about whether they were returned and why.
The court ordered Retter to file that supplemental affidavit by June 23, 2023, if the mailings were still undeliverable. Judge John P. Cronan did not state in this order that he granted or denied the default-judgment motion.
The detailed version
- Retter v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela · No. 1:20-cv-08495
- John Cronan
- June 22, 2023
Background
Daniel Retter was seeking a default judgment against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. On May 1, 2023, the court provisionally allowed Retter to serve Venezuela with the default-judgment motion papers by email because earlier attempts to serve the papers by mail had been unsuccessful. Retter served the papers by email on May 2, 2023.
Rule and Issue
Southern District of New York Local Civil Rule 55.2(c) requires papers supporting a default-judgment request to be mailed at the last known business address of the party against whom judgment is sought. The rule also requires proof of the mailing to be filed with the court. If the mailing is returned, the party seeking default judgment must file a supplemental sworn statement describing the return and giving the reason for it, if one was provided.
Retter’s counsel filed a sworn declaration stating that the papers had been mailed to Venezuela’s two last known addresses. But Retter did not file a supplemental declaration stating that the mailings had been returned as undeliverable and explaining the reason for any return. The court noted that an earlier status letter about the mailings was not a sworn affidavit and therefore did not strictly comply with the rule.
Ruling
Judge John P. Cronan ordered that, if Retter’s mailing attempts were still undeliverable, Retter must file the required supplemental affidavit by June 23, 2023. The order did not expressly grant or deny the default-judgment motion. It addressed compliance with the mailing requirements for that motion.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.