Opinion
20-mc-00249-AJN
01-13-2021
ANTONIO CABALLERO, Plaintiff, v. FUERZAS ARMADAS REVOLUCIONARIAS DE COLOMBIA a/k/a FARC-EP a/k/a REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA; and THE NORTE DE VALLE CARTEL, Defendants.
ORDER
ALISON J. NATHAN U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
Upon due and careful consideration of: (i) the Anti-Terrorism Act (“ATA”), 18 U.S.C. §2333(e); (ii) section 201 (a) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (“TRIA”), Pub. L. No. 107-297, § 201(a), 116 Stat. 2322 (codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1610 note); (iii) Fed.R.Civ.P. 69(a); (iii) Order Granting Ex Parte Motion for Issuance of Writs of Garnishment, D.E. 367, Stansell v. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Case No. 19-cv-20896 (S.D. Fla. June 16, 2020); (iv) Order Adopting Reports & Recommendations and Granting Sealed Motion for Release of Funds Held by Garnishee, D.E. 288, Doe v. FARC, Case No. 10-cv-21517 (S.D. Fla. June 5, 2020); and (v) the Court's Individual Practices in Civil Cases, parts 1.B and 4, and Standing Order, In re:; Electronic Filing Under Seal in Civil and Miscellaneous Cases, 1:19-mc-00583-CM (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 19,2019).
IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1) This Court has subject matter jurisdiction to conduct post-judgment execution proceedings of a plaintiffs final judgment under a federal statute (ATA), rendered by a U.S. district court and properly registered in this district, with post-judgment execution under the ATA and TRIA §201;
2) The Court grants Plaintiff Antonio Caballero's (“Caballero”) Motion for Writ of Attachment (the “Motion for Attachment”);
3) the Court finds that Petrocedeno S.A. is an agent and instrumentality of the FARC;
4) the Court finds that the assets of Petrocedeno S.A. are blocked assets and are executable under TRIA towards satisfaction of the ATA Final Judgment; and
5) The Court concludes that the Caballero, has adequately established that (1) he has obtained an Anti-Terrorism Act judgment against a terrorist party (the FARC) that is based on an act of international terrorism, (2) the assets which Caballero seeks to execute on are “blocked assets” as that term is defined under the TRIA and the ATA, 18 U.S.C. §2333(e), (3) the total amount of the executions does not exceed the amount outstanding of Caballero's ATA Final Judgment, and (4) the owner of the subject blocked assets is an agent and instrumentality of the FARC.
6) The Clerk of this Court is directed to issue a Writ of Attachment against Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation to attach any assets (up to Plaintiff Antonio Caballero's outstanding trebled portion of his compensatory damages award - i.e., $135,193,487.93 - plus interest) within this Court's jurisdiction in the putative name of, or for the benefit of, or that were blocked due to an association with, Petrocedeno S.A.
7) The Clerk of the Court is authorized and directed to issue such further writs in aid of execution as warranted under, and in accordance with, Rule 69 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, consistent with the Court's Order.
8) Caballero is ordered to notify the Court once he has attached all assets that are subject to this order.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED