Opinion
Civil Action 19-23113-Civ-Scola
04-21-2022
Isaac Industries, Inc., Plaintiff, v. Petroquimica de Venezuela, S.A. and others, Defendants.
ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Robert N. Scola, Jr. United States District Judge
Previously, the Court referred Plaintiff Isaac Industries, Inc.'s motion for the entry of a default against Defendants Petroquimica de Venezuela, S.A., Bariven, S.A, and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (Pl.'s Mot., ECF No. 60) to United States Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman for a report and recommendations. (Court's Ref., ECF No. 67.) Thereafter, Judge Goodman issued a report, recommending that the Court deny the motion as well as dismiss the complaint, without prejudice, providing the Plaintiff with an opportunity to amend the complaint in order to properly assert subject-matter jurisdiction. (Report of Magistrate, ECF No. 69, 2.) Neither party has filed objections to the report, and the time to do so has passed.
The Court has considered Judge Goodman's report, the record, and the relevant legal authorities. The Court finds Judge Goodman's report and recommendations thorough, cogent, and compelling. The Court therefore affirms and adopts Judge Goodman's report and recommendations in its entirety (ECF No. 69). The Court thus denies the Plaintiff's motion for the entry of a default (ECF No. 60). At the same time, the Court agrees with Judge Goodman that the Plaintiff has failed to allege a basis for the Court's subject-matter jurisdiction over this action, where the defendants are instrumentalities of a foreign sovereign. Accordingly, the Court dismisses this complaint, without prejudice, and orders the Plaintiff to file an amended complaint, on or before May 2, 2022, if it can, in good faith, properly assert subject-matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and plead an exception to foreign sovereign immunity. The Court forewarns the Plaintiff that if it fails to comply, the Court will dismiss this action, albeit without prejudice, and close this case. The Court also adopts Judge Goodman's recommendation that the Defendants be prohibited from re-asserting a challenge to service of process.
Done and ordered.