Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJune 1, 2021
DocketCivil Action No. 2017-0582
StatusPublished

This text of Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine (Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine, (D.D.C. 2021).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

PAO TATNEFT,

Petitioner/Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. 17-582 (CKK)

UKRAINE,

Respondent/Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION (June 1, 2021)

Pending before this Court is Respondent Ukraine’s [67] Motion to Stay Execution of

Judgment Without Bond.1 This Memorandum Opinion relates to a discrete post-Judgment issue in

a case involving a long and tortuous history, first in arbitration and later in this Court. As such, this

Court incorporates by reference the background sections set forth in its March 19, 2018

Memorandum Opinion, ECF No. 34, and May 13, 2020 Memorandum Opinion, ECF No. 48, as

supplemented by its August 24, 2020 Memorandum Opinion, ECF No. 50, and the Court will

highlight below the relevant procedural background.

Pao Tatneft, formerly known as OAO Tatneft (herein referred to as “Tatneft”), initially

brought this action to enforce a 2014 foreign arbitral award entered in favor of Petitioner Pao Tatneft

and against Respondent Ukraine by the International Arbitral Tribunal in OAO Tatneft v. Ukraine,

1 In connection with this Memorandum Opinion, the Court considered Respondent’s [67] Motion to Stay Execution of Judgment Without Bond (“Ukraine Motion”); Petitioner’s [69] Opposition to Respondent’s Motion to Stay Execution of Judgment Without Bond (“Tatneft Opp’n”); Ukraine’s [73] Reply in Support of Motion to Stay Execution of Judgment Without Bond (“Ukraine Reply”); and the record in this case. In an exercise of its discretion, the Court finds that holding oral argument in this action would not be of assistance in rendering a decision. See LCvR 7(f). 1 an arbitration seated in Paris, France and conducted pursuant to the Rules of the United Nations

Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”). Tatneft filed in this Court its [1] Petition

to confirm the arbitral award on March 30, 2017. On August 24, 2020, this Court granted Tatneft’s

Petition for confirmation of the foreign arbitral award, see Order, ECF No. 49, and Memorandum

Opinion, ECF No. 50. Thereafter, Ukraine filed an appeal, while the parties concurrently briefed

their calculations of the proposed judgment amount with interest. On January 11, 2021, this Court

entered its [60] Memorandum Opinion and Order affirming the judgment amount (with interest)

calculated by Tatneft, and entered its [61] Judgment in the amount of $172,910,493.00.

Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(a), Tatneft waited thirty days before commencing discovery

in aid of execution of the Judgment. “Because Ukraine did not pay the Judgment, post a bond or

even indicate its intention to do either, on February 23, 2021, Tatneft served discovery requests on

Ukraine,” see Tatneft Opp’n, ECF No. 69, at 13;2 Jonathan Blackman Decl., Ex. 1 [First Set of

Interrogatories] and Ex. 2 [First Set of Requests for Production of Documents].3 On March 22,

2021, pursuant to Federal Rules 45 and 69(a)(2), Tatneft issued nonparty subpoenas for service on

several financial institutions, and Ukraine served its responses and objections shortly thereafter.

Tatneft Opp’n, ECF No. 69, at 14. Two days thereafter, on March 29, 2021, Ukraine informed

Tatneft’s counsel of its intent to move for a stay of execution, id., and it filed the instant Motion to

Stay Execution of Judgment Without Bond on that same day. That Motion is ripe for this Court’s

consideration, and for the reasons set forth herein, this Court DENIES Ukraine’s [67] Motion to

Stay Execution of Judgment Without Bond.

2 Page numbers cited by the Court refer to the page numbers assigned by the Court’s Electronic Case Filing (“ECF”) system. 3 Mr. Blackman is one of the attorneys who represents Pao Tatneft in this matter. 2 I. LEGAL STANDARD

A party may obtain an automatic stay of execution of a money judgment against it pending

appeal “by providing a bond or other security.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(b); see Fleming, Zulack &

Williamson, LLP v. Info. Super Station, LLC, 215 F.R.D. 5, 8 (D.D.C. 2003) (noting that a stay

under Rule 62 stops discovery in aid of execution). The Court of Appeals for the District of

Columbia Circuit has indicated that a “full supersedeas bond should be the requirement in normal

circumstances” and that a district court has discretion to waive this requirement only in “unusual

circumstances.” Fed. Prescription Serv., Inc. v. Am. Pharm. Ass’n, 636 F.2d 755, 760 (D.C. Cir.

1980). In ordinary cases, a bond is required where “there is some reasonable likelihood of the

judgment debtor’s inability or unwillingness to satisfy the judgment . . . and where posting adequate

security is practicable.” Id. When exercising discretion to excuse the requirement of a bond, courts

consider whether an unsecured stay would “unduly endanger the judgment creditor’s interest in

ultimate recovery.” Id. at 760-61. The party who seeks a stay without a bond bears the burden of

proof to demonstrate the presence of unusual circumstances. Godfrey v. Iverson, No. 05-2044,

2007 WL 3001426, at *1 (D.D.C. Oct. 16, 2007). Courts may also analyze a stay using the

traditional stay factors articulated in Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776 (1987).

II. ARGUMENT

Ukraine argues that: (1) this Court should grant a stay without bond because Ukraine is a

sovereign entity with funds to satisfy the judgment in the event that it is affirmed on appeal; and

(2) the four-factor test in Hilton weighs in favor of a stay without bond. These arguments will be

addressed in turn below.

A. A Stay Without Bond based on Ukraine’s Sovereign Status is Unwarranted

Ukraine asserts that a stay is warranted because of Ukraine’s status as a “sovereign entity

3 with ample funds to satisfy the Court’s judgment at the appropriate time.” Ukraine Mot., ECF No.

67, at 6 (citing Cruise Connections Charter Mgmt. I v. Attorney General of Canada, 2014 U.S.

Dist. LEXIS 204835, at *3 (D.D.C. Oct. 1, 2014)). Ukraine argues first that there is a “presumption

in favor of sovereign states” that relieves them of the concern upon which a bond requirement is

predicated; i.e., a likelihood or inability or unwillingness to pay. Ukraine Mot., ECF No. 67, at 7;

see Matter of Arbitration of Certain Controversies Between Getma Int’l & Republic of Guinea,

142 F. Supp. 3d 110, 118 n.10 (D.D.C. 2015) (noting that a “sovereign state . . . [is] presumably .

. . solvent and will comply with legitimate order issued by courts in this country”) (quotation

omitted and alterations in original); see also Novenergia II – Energy & Env’l (SCA) v. Kingdom of

Spain, 18-cv-01148 (TSC), 2020 WL 417794, at *6 (D.D.C. Jan. 27, 2020) (noting that “courts in

this Circuit generally have not required foreign sovereigns to post security” because of the

presumption of solvency and compliance with court orders).

Tatneft argues however that, “[c]ontrary to Ukraine’s assertion, courts in this Circuit have

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