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Signage is seen at the entrance of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
(Reuters) - A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday questioned whether Russian-affiliated banking and energy entities could contest subpoenas from a Jewish organization that has fought for more than a decade to force Russia to return a collection of sacred religious texts.
Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States issued the subpoenas in 2019 to Tenex-USA Inc and State Development Corp VEB.RF in a bid to find any U.S. assets that could be seized to satisfy a judge's order against the Russian Federation. A Washington, D.C., federal judge declared Russia in contempt in 2013, and the country now faces more than $150 million in civil sanctions.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit during Tuesday's hearing at times seemed poised to uphold the lower court judge's orders that said Tenex and the bank, which are not defendants, cannot dodge Chabad's push for discovery.
D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan said Tenex was facing an "uphill battle" in contesting the subpoena. Russia is the defendant in the lawsuit, filed in 2004 to compel the return of thousands of religious texts seized in the early 20th century. Russia stopped participating in the litigation in 2009 and was held in default.
"It's difficult to see you as a legal representative, at least in the normal way we think about legal representatives, which is a trustee or somebody who's actually standing in the shoes of the party," D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan told Nicolle Kownacki of White & Case, a lawyer representing Tenex, during arguments.
Kownacki did not immediately return a message seeking comment after the argument. Lawyers from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, including David Livshiz, represented the Russian-affiliated bank. Livshiz did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Livshiz argued the bank, as an instrument of the Russian government, is immune to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. Kownacki told the D.C. Circuit in a brief that Chabad was seeking "invasive and burdensome discovery."
Steven Lieberman of Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, who argued in the D.C. Circuit for Chabad, told Reuters after the hearing that Russia has "for years thumbed its nose" at the U.S. court system. He said "for no good reason" the Russian government has refused to return the cultural books and artifacts at issue in the lawsuit.
Chabad's subpoenas are exploring the relationship of the bank and energy outfits to Russia. Chabad has not moved to "attach" any asset in the U.S. to satisfy a judge's order against Russia.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth declared Russia in contempt over its refusal to return the sacred texts and imposed a $50,000 daily sanction in 2013.
The United States at the time objected to the imposition of a sanction, arguing it would harm the government's foreign policy interests and its diplomatic effort to settle the dispute with Russia on behalf of Chabad.
Srinivasan heard the case with D.C. Circuit Judge Judith Rogers and Senior Judge David Sentelle.
The case is Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, No. 20-7080.
For the plaintiff: Robert Parker and Steven Lieberman of Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck
For Tenex-USA: Nicolle Kownacki and David Riesenberg of White & Case
For State Development Corp VEB.RF: David Livshiz of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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October 13, 2021 at 04:32AM
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Russian entities face 'uphill' fight in subpoena case - Reuters
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