Syracuse Mountains Corporation v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
- Analisa Torres
- 1:21-cv-02678
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Syracuse Mountains v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Judge Torres granted Syracuse Mountains’ request to enforce its judgment after eight months without payment.
Syracuse Mountains Corporation may enforce its judgment against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under the order; Venezuela is the judgment debtor affected by the enforcement ruling.
What happened
Syracuse Mountains Corporation sued the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for not making required payments on eleven bond series. Venezuela did not appear, and the court entered a default judgment requiring payment of the bond debt, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. Venezuela had made no payments by the time of this motion.
Syracuse Mountains asked the court to find that a reasonable period had passed since judgment, as required before enforcing certain judgments against a foreign state’s property in the United States. The court noted that eight months had passed, courts have found shorter periods reasonable, and Venezuela offered no reason to delay enforcement.
Judge Analisa Torres granted the motion. The order allows Syracuse Mountains to enforce the judgment under the cited federal statute, but it does not identify any particular property or order a specific attachment or seizure. The court directed the clerk to close the motion.
The detailed version
- Syracuse Mountains Corporation v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela · No. 1:21-cv-02678
- Analisa Torres
- Apr. 1, 2024
Background
Syracuse Mountains Corporation sued the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for breach of contract, alleging that Venezuela failed to make required payments on eleven series of bonds. Venezuela did not appear in the action. On July 20, 2023, the court entered a default judgment requiring Venezuela to pay the amount owed on the bonds, plus interest and attorneys’ fees and costs. The opinion states that Venezuela had not made any payments on the judgment.
Syracuse Mountains then moved for an order under 28 U.S.C. § 1610(c). That provision of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act requires a court to determine that a reasonable period has passed after judgment before certain property of a foreign state’s agency or instrumentality in the United States may be attached and executed against.
Reasoning
The statute does not define “reasonable time.” The court considered factors identified in earlier decisions, including procedures that might be needed to pay a foreign-state judgment, representations or actions showing that the foreign state is trying to satisfy the judgment, and evidence that the foreign state may remove assets to frustrate enforcement.
The court found that eight months had passed since entry of judgment. It cited decisions finding periods of three months, six weeks, two months, and five months reasonable in other cases. The court also relied on its 2021 order in a related proceeding, in which it found that seven months was a reasonable period after judgment. Venezuela made no additional argument in this action against granting Syracuse Mountains’ motion and did not submit an opposition.
Disposition
The court granted Syracuse Mountains Corporation’s motion for an order finding that a reasonable period had elapsed following entry of judgment under § 1610(c). Judge Analisa Torres directed the clerk to terminate the motion at docket entry 51. The order does not specify particular assets or direct a particular attachment or execution procedure.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.