Southern District Of New York Refuses To Permit Electronic Funds Transfers To Be Attached To Satisfy Judgment Against North Korea

Calderon-Cardona, et al. v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al., 11 Civ. 3283 (S.D.N.Y. 2011)(DLC), presents an extended discussion of the requirements, and pitfalls, of a judgment-creditor's efforts to collect on a judgment. We posted on the earlier decision on liability in the case, which was decided by the District of Puerto Rico federal court.

The underlying case involved claims arising out of the terrorist attack at Lod Airport in Israel on May 30, 1972. The plaintiffs in this case included Puerto Rican persons who were pilgrims (or their families) visiting Israel and happened to be at the airport. Defendants in the action were North Korea and its instrumentality (the CGIB), who allegedly gave material support to the Japanese Red Army and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the groups with most immediate responsibility. Defendants did not appear to defend themselves in the action, and the questions presented to the District Court included how a default judgment could be entered given the strictures of the Sovereign Foreign Immunities Act. 28 U.S.C. § 1605 et seq. The federal district court found:

"North Korea's demonstrated and well-known policy to encourage, support and direct a campaign of murder against civilians amply justifies the imposition of punitive damages against it and the CGIB. North Korea's budget for the export of terrorism is not known. However, this Court will adopt the 'typical punitive damages award of $300 million' that has been awarded against the Islamic Republic of Iran because '[t]here is no reason to depart from settled case law regarding the amount of punitive damages in terrorism cases'."

In the current decision by the Southern District of New York, the Court addressed judgment enforcement efforts that began with the petitioners serving a subpoena on the...