A Russian bank, represented by Marks & Sokolov, filed an action in the Superior Court of California to domesticate a Russian judgment for over $1.5 billion. The debtor under the judgment moved to dismiss the case arguing the bank’s SDN status bars the claim.
Marks & Sokolov successfully opposed the dismissal showing that an SDN may apply to domesticate its foreign judgment in the U.S. without an OFAC license. The judge agreed finding that the U.S. court may recognize a foreign judgment held by an SDN, and the plaintiff will only require a license once it seeks to enforce in the U.S. California court also overruled the debtor’s remaining objections based on the absence of justiciable controversy and the Russian judgment allegedly being repugnant to the U.S. public policy.