Carlos Eduardo Marron, Maria Marron, C.R., a minor, and S.A., a minor v. Nicolas Maduro Moros, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia, Cartel of the Suns, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, Nestor Luis Reverol Torres, Tarek William Saab, and Tareck El Aissami

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida grants motions to dissolve writs of garnishment and execution directed at assets associated with Raul Gorrin Belisario and Gustavo Adolfo Perdomo Rosales. The court holds that the writs were improperly issued without a prior determination that the asset owners were agents or instrumentalities of the judgment-debtor terrorist parties, and that assets subject to an OFAC license were not blocked assets reachable under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The court denies motions to quash subpoenas as moot and grants the plaintiffs leave to amend citation errors and potentially renew proceedings after sale proceeds are placed in a blocked account.

Holdings

1. Before a writ of garnishment or execution under TRIA § 201 may issue against property owned by an alleged third-party agent or instrumentality, the district court must determine through an adversary process that the property owner is a specially designated narcotics trafficker and an agency or instrumentality of the judgment-debtor terrorist party.
2. Property subject to an OFAC license authorizing a licensee to manage, sell, and otherwise control the property is not blocked property subject to execution under TRIA until any remaining sale proceeds are deposited into a blocked account.
3. Plaintiffs were not required to obtain an OFAC license before attaching or executing on blocked assets of an agent or instrumentality of a terrorist party to satisfy a TRIA judgment.
4. The motions to quash the subpoenas were denied as moot, with leave to renew if appropriate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Clerk could issue TRIA writs of garnishment and execution against third-party assets without a prior district-court determination that the asset owners were agents or instrumentalities of the judgment-debtor terrorist parties.
2. Whether property subject to an OFAC license authorizing its management and sale constitutes blocked property subject to execution under TRIA.
3. Whether plaintiffs were required to obtain an OFAC license before attaching or executing on blocked assets under TRIA.
4. Whether the motions to quash subpoenas should be decided despite dissolution of the writs.

Disposition

other