Preview
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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
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:
ARJUNA C. FERNANDO, :
:
Petitioner, :
:
-against- : I.A.S. Part to be assigned
:
KAREN ELLEMANN, THORKIL JUUL, JAN : Index No. 159641/2016
HENRIKSEN, MERETE PANTMANN, LISE :
GRY BEDER, LENE CONRAD, HENRIK : Motion Seq. No. 001
HORSTER, NINI CHRISTENSEN, HELLE :
HAXGART, JETTE RØGILD, ANNETTE :
GREGERSEN, JULIE BRØNDEN WIJNGAARD, :
ANDREA JEDRZEJOSKA, LONE BUHL, AND :
LOUISE BRYDOV, :
:
Respondents. :
:
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PROPOSED INTERVENORS’ MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF
THEIR MOTION TO INTERVENE AND TO STAY THE PROCEEDINGS
Dated: New York, New York
January 30, 2017
DUANE MORRIS LLP
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036-4086
(212) 692-1000
Attorneys for Proposed Intervenors
Danish Ministry for Children and Social Affairs
and the Danish National Social Appeals Board
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .......................................................................................................... ii
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT .....................................................................................................1
STATEMENT OF FACTS ..............................................................................................................3
ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................6
a. This Court Should Permit Proposed Intervenors to Intervene as a Matter of
Right As the Real Parties In Interest ....................................................................... 6
b. This Court Should Allow Proposed Intervenors to Intervene on a
Permissive Basis ..................................................................................................... 8
c. This Court Should Allow Stay The Proceedings Pursuant to C.P.L.R. 2201
Until This Application To Intervene Is Decided..................................................... 9
CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................10
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
Berkoski v. Bd. of Trustees of Incorporated Village of Southampton,
67 A.D.3d 840, 889 N.Y.S.2d 623 (2d Dep’t 2009) ..................................................................8
Gen. Ins. Co. of Am. v. Tilcon N.Y., Inc.,
1996 WL 389265 (S.D.N.Y. July 11, 1996) ..............................................................................3
Israel v. Wood Dolson Co.,
1 N.Y.2d 116, 151 N.Y.S.2d 1 (1956) .......................................................................................6
Lamboy v. Gross, 129 Misc. 2d 564, 493 N.Y.S.2d 709 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 1985),
aff’d, 126 A.D.2d 265, 513 N.Y.S.2d 393 (1st Dep’t 1987) ......................................................8
Odhiambo v. Republic of Kenya, 930 F. Supp. 2d 17 (D.D.C. 2013), aff’d, 764
F.3d 31 (D.C. Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 2504 (U.S. 2016) ........................................7
Research Corp. v. Singer-Gen. Precision, Inc.,
36 A.D.2d 987, 320 N.Y.S.2d 818 (3d Dep’t 1971) ..................................................................9
Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305 (2010) .......................................................................................7
Smith Rocke Ltd. v. Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela, No. 12 Cv. 7316 (LGS),
2014 WL 288705 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2014) ..............................................................................7
St. Joseph’s Hosp. Health Ctr. v. Dep’t of Health,
224 A.D.2d 1008, 637 N.Y.S.2d 821 (4th Dep’t 1996) .............................................................8
Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp. v. State Bd. of Equalization & Assessment,
34 A.D.2d 1033, 311 N.Y.S.2d 46 (3d Dep’t 1970) ..................................................................6
United Servs. Auto. Ass’n v. Graham,
21 A.D.2d 657, 249 N.Y.S.2d 788 (1st Dep’t 1964) .................................................................8
Vantage Petroleum v. Bd. of Assessment Review of the Town of Babylon, 61
N.Y.2d 695 (1984) .....................................................................................................................6
Yuppie Puppy Pet Prod., Inc. v. St. Smart Realty, LLC, 77 A.D.3d 197, 906
N.Y.S.2d 231 (1st Dep’t 2010) ..................................................................................................8
Zonghetti v. Jeromack,
150 A.D.2d 561, 541 N.Y.S.2d 235 (2d Dep’t 1989) ................................................................9
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Statutes and Rules
28 U.S.C. § 1602 ..............................................................................................................................2
C.P.L.R. 103(c) ................................................................................................................................1
C.P.L.R. 1012(a) ........................................................................................................................1, 10
C.P.L.R. 1012(a)(2) .........................................................................................................................6
C.P.L.R. 1013.........................................................................................................................1, 8, 10
C.P.L.R. 2201...........................................................................................................................1, 3, 9
New York Penal Law § 260.10(1) ...............................................................................................1, 4
New York Penal Law § 260.10(2) ...............................................................................................1, 4
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The Danish Ministry for Children and Social Affairs (the “Ministry”) and the Danish
National Social Appeals Board (the “Appeals Board”) (collectively, the “Proposed Intervenors”),
by and through their undersigned counsel, Duane Morris LLP, respectfully submit this
Memorandum of Law, along with the accompanying Affirmation of Jane Vinther dated January
30, 2017 (the “Vinther Affirmation”); the Affirmation of Evangelos Michailidis dated January
30, 2017, together with exhibits annexed thereto (the “Michailidis Affirmation”); and the
Emergency Affirmation of Evangelos Michailidis dated January 30, 2017 (“Michailidis
Emergency Affirmation”) in support of their ex parte motion for an Order: (1) pursuant to
C.P.L.R. 1012(a) and 1013 granting Proposed Intervenors leave to intervene as the real parties in
interest in place of the named defendants Karen Ellemann, Thorkil Juul, Jan Henriksen, Merete
Pantmann, Lise Gry Beder, Lene Conrad, Henrik Horster, Nini Christensen, Helle Haxgart, Jette
Røgild, Anette Gregersen, Julie Brønden Wijngaard, Andrea Jedrzejoska, Lone Buhl, and Louise
Brydov (collectively, the “Foreign Official Defendants”); and (2) pursuant to C.P.L.R. 2201
staying this action as against the Foreign Official Defendants.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Plaintiff pro se Arjuna Fernando (“Plaintiff Pro Se”) filed his Petition with this Court on
November 16, 2016 against the Foreign Official Defendants, all of whom are current and former
officials of the Ministry or the Appeals Board, which are agencies and/or instrumentalities of the
Kingdom of Denmark, alleging that they violated New York Penal Law §§ 260.10(1) and
260.10(2) by denying him visitation and custody of his daughter, who is also a resident in
Denmark.1 Setting aside the issue of whether Plaintiff Pro Se can bring a civil suit in New York
1
Although denominated as a Petition, the pro se pleading should in actuality be construed as a
Complaint. See C.P.L.R. 103(c). Consequently, Proposed Intervenors refer to Mr. Fernando as
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state court for alleged violations of New York’s criminal statutes against Danish governmental
officials, the allegations set forth in the Petition relate solely to the actions of Foreign Official
Defendants in their official capacity as current and former officials of agencies and
instrumentalities of the Danish Government. As a result, any determination rendered in this case
would necessarily implicate the interests of the Kingdom of Denmark, including its immunity
from suit in the United States, as well as the concomitant immunity of its governmental officials
and employees.
As such, Proposed Intervenors seek leave of this Court to intervene in order to protect
their sovereign interests, as well as those of its officials and employees. Once leave is granted,
Proposed Intervenors intend to remove this case to the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York under Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1602 et
seq. (the “FSIA”). Under that statute, Plaintiff Pro Se’s claims are subject to dismissal for lack
of subject matter jurisdiction. The Petition is subject to dismissal on numerous other bases, all of
which will be addressed in the appropriate federal forum once this case is timely removed to that
court.
In addition to foreign sovereign immunity and foreign official immunity, among the other
bases for dismissal that Proposed Intervenors intend to raise in federal court is that Plaintiff Pro
Se is collaterally estopped from bringing the claims in his Petition. In three separate cases, the
federal courts have dismissed nearly identical claims brought by Plaintiff Pro Se’s claims against
Danish government officials, including many of the Foreign Official Defendants named in the
instant Petition. At bottom, Plaintiff Pro Se is engaged in a campaign of serial litigation against
“Plaintiff Pro Se” and the Danish officials named as respondents as “Foreign Official
Defendants.”
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Danish government officials in United States federal court and seeking to game the system by
shifting the individuals named in this case in an unavailing attempt to evade the preclusive effect
of the earlier dismissals. Indeed, Plaintiff Pro Se implicitly acknowledges as much in his
Petition, in which he contends that “Collateral Estoppel is also not applicable to any of the
Respondents listed in this Petition, because New York State, where this suit is filed against
Respondents by Petitioner, is a sovereign State within the United States of America.” (Pet. ¶ 7.)
Consequently, intervention is necessary so that the Danish Government can seek appropriate
relief to ensure that Plaintiff Pro Se’s misuse of the United States courts comes to an end.
Additionally, a stay of this action is appropriate as to the Foreign Official Defendants
pursuant to C.P.L.R. 2201 who are immune from suit for the alleged actions taken in their
official capacities as current and former officials of the Danish Government.
Proposed Intervenors respectfully request that this Court grant them leave to intervene as
the real parties in interest in place of the Foreign Official Defendants and stay this action as
against the Foreign Official Defendants.2
STATEMENT OF FACTS3
In the Petition, Plaintiff Pro Se, a resident of Denmark, alleges that the Foreign Official
Defendants, all of whom are current and former officials of agencies and/or instrumentalities of
2
This matter is time sensitive because certain authority suggests that Proposed Intervenors’
thirty-day period within which to remove this case to federal court begins to run from the date of
this application. See Gen. Ins. Co. of Am. v. Tilcon N.Y., Inc., 1996 WL 389265, at *1 (S.D.N.Y.
July 11, 1996) (“Courts confronting the special issue of the timeliness of removal by an
intervener rather than a defendant have held that the thirty day statutory periods begins to run
either on the date an intervention petition is filed in the state court from which removal is sought
or on the date the state court grants the motion to intervene.”) (emphases added). (Michailidis
Emergency Aff. ¶ 7.)
3
Proposed Intervenors hereby incorporate the facts set forth in the accompanying Vinther
Affirmation and Michailidis Affirmation.
3
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the Danish Government, violated New York Penal Law §§ 260.10(1) and 260.10(2) by denying
him visitation and custody of his daughter, who is also a resident in Denmark. (Michailidis Aff.
¶ 4 & Ex. A.)
Each of the Foreign Official Defendants is a current or former officer or employee of an
agency or instrumentality of the Kingdom of Denmark. (Vinther Aff. ¶¶ 4-19; Michailidis Aff.
¶¶ 4-5.)
Although the caption of the Petition names the Foreign Official Defendants “in their
official and individual capacities,” the allegations set forth in Plaintiff Pro Se’s Petition relate
solely to actions claimed to have been taken by the Foreign Official Defendants in their official
capacity as officers and employees of the various agencies and instrumentalities of the Danish
government. (Michailidis Aff. ¶ 5 & Ex. A, Pet. ¶¶ 10-21.)
For example, in his Petition, Plaintiff Pro Se contends that this Court has jurisdiction over
his claims because “[t]he Government of Denmark, whom Respondents are employed by,
transacts business and provides services within New York State and uses and possesses real
property situated within New York State to conduct business and to provide the services.”
(Michailidis Aff. ¶ 6 & Ex. A, Pet. ¶ 3.)
Further, Plaintiff Pro Se makes unsubstantiated and false allegations against the Danish
Government such as the following: “any case that involves foreign nationals, including
American citizens, such as Petitioner and his daughter SK, that is handled by Danish
Government officials and their employees, such as Respondents, the civil rights of foreign
nationals in Denmark will be wil[l]fully and flagrantly violated with impunity.” (Michailidis
Aff. ¶ 7 & Ex. A, Pet. ¶ 26.)
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An immediate stay of the instant action is of particular importance in light of the issues of
sovereign immunity implicated by the pro se Petition. Proposed Intervenors assert foreign
sovereign immunity, and seek leave to intervene – whether as a matter of right or on a permissive
basis – as the real parties in interest for the purpose of removing the instant action to the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition, the Proposed
Intervenors assert foreign official immunity on behalf of the Foreign Official Defendants.
(Michailidis Aff. ¶ 9.)
A stay of this action is also warranted because Plaintiff Pro Se has engaged in a campaign
of serial litigation in United States federal courts concerning his child custody proceeding in
Denmark against various Danish officials. In each of three federal cases, the courts have
dismissed his claims, and two of those rulings were affirmed on appeal. (Michailidis Aff. ¶ 10 &
Ex. B.) Despite the preclusive effect of those courts’ rulings, Plaintiff Pro Se is seeking to game
the system by effectively rehashing his earlier dismissed claims, by filing with this Court and
naming different Danish government officials as parties. (See id. Ex. B.)
Indeed, the pro se Petition tacitly acknowledges that Plaintiff Pro Se’s claims in this
action are subject to attack based on collateral estoppel. Plaintiff Pro Se alleges as follows:
Collateral Estoppel is also not applicable to any of the Respondents
listed in this Petition, because New York State, where this suit is
filed against Respondents by Petitioner, is a sovereign State within
the United States of America. Therefore, any civil or criminal action
taken against Respondents, together or individually, in a court of law
of the State of New York can be adjudicated, irrespective of whether
civil action has been initiated against any of the Respondents in a
U.S. Federal Court.”).
(Michailidis Aff. ¶ 11 & Ex. A, Pet. ¶ 7.)
Once the action is removed to federal court, the Proposed Intervenors intend to move to
dismiss the action based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to the FSIA, as well as
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several other bases, including, but not limited to: (1) collateral estoppel; (2) lack of personal
jurisdiction; (3) improper venue; (4) insufficient service of process; and (5) failure to state a
claim upon which relief can be granted. In addition, in light of Plaintiff Pro Se’s serial filings,
Proposed Intervenors intend to seek relief from the federal court in the form of an order
enjoining him from filing additional suits against Danish government officials in United States
courts based on his custody dispute in Denmark. (Michailidis Aff. ¶ 12.)
ARGUMENT
THIS COURT SHOULD GRANT LEAVE TO INTERVENE AND STAY THE
CURRENT PROCEEDINGS AS AGAINST THE FOREIGN OFFICIAL DEFENDANTS
a. This Court Should Permit Proposed Intervenors
to Intervene as a Matter of Right As the Real Parties In Interest
A nonparty may intervene as a matter of right “when the representation of the person’s
interest by the parties is or may be inadequate and the person is or may be bound by the
judgment.” See C.P.L.R. 1012(a)(2). Whether a person seeking intervention will be bound by
the judgment is determined by its res judicata effect. See Vantage Petroleum v. Bd. of
Assessment Review of the Town of Babylon, 61 N.Y.2d 695, 698 (1984). The circumstances in
which the principles of res judicata can bind a person who is not a party to an action are few in
number. However, a finding of “privity” between one of the parties and the person to be bound
is required. See Israel v. Wood Dolson Co., 1 N.Y.2d 116, 119, 151 N.Y.S.2d 1, 3-4 (1956) (“In
such situations when the complaining party has been given a full opportunity to litigate those
issues against one of the parties, and has been defeated on grounds other than a personal defense,
he is not permitted to relitigate the same issue in a new action against the other.”); see also
Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp. v. State Bd. of Equalization & Assessment, 34 A.D.2d
1033, 1034, 311 N.Y.S.2d 46, 47 (3d Dep’t 1970) (holding that the city, as the real party in
interest, had the right to intervene in challenging the Board’s assessment).
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As such, Proposed Intervenors – while asserting their foreign sovereign immunity – seek
leave to intervene, whether as a matter of right or on a permissive basis, as the real parties in
interest for the purpose of removing the instant action to federal court. The interests of the
Proposed Intervenors are not adequately represented in the instant action and they are required to
defray the costs of the Foreign Official Defendants’ defense in this action given that the
allegations in the pro se Petition pertain solely to the alleged actions of the Foreign Official
Defendants in their official capacity as current and former officials of the Danish Government.
(Vinther Aff. ¶ 20.) Thus, as a matter of right, the Proposed Intervenors should be permitted to
intervene in order to remove this case to federal court under the FSIA.
Thereafter, Proposed Intervenors may properly move to dismiss this action for lack of
subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to the FSIA, as well as on the bases of a plethora of other
deficiencies in the pro se Petition. See Odhiambo v. Republic of Kenya, 930 F. Supp. 2d 17, 34
(D.D.C. 2013) (dismissing a suit against Kenyan government and its officials in their official
capacity under FSIA because “the Kenyan government was ‘the real party in interest’”), aff’d,
764 F.3d 31 (D.C. Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 2504 (U.S. 2016). Where, as here, an
official is sued in his or her official capacity, and where, as here, the action is clearly against the
foreign state, the case should be treated as an action against the foreign state itself, as the state is
the real party in interest. See Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305, 334-35 (2010); see also Smith
Rocke Ltd. v. Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela, No. 12 Cv. 7316 (LGS), 2014 WL 288705, at
*11 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2014) (“The Supreme Court noted that where an official is sued in his
official capacity, and where the action is clearly against the foreign state itself as the real party in
interest, the case may be treated as an action ‘against the foreign state itself, as the state is the
real party in interest.’”) (quoting Samantar, 560 U.S. at 325).
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b. This Court Should Allow Proposed Intervenors
to Intervene on a Permissive Basis
In the alternative, a nonparty may intervene on a permissive basis at the discretion of the
Court, provided that the intervention will not result in undue delay or prejudice the substantial
rights of any party. See C.P.L.R. 1013. In exercising its discretion, the Court should consider
the extent to which the proposed intervenor has a “real and substantial interest in the outcome of
the proceedings.” See Berkoski v. Bd. of Trustees of Incorporated Village of Southampton, 67
A.D.3d 840, 843, 889 N.Y.S.2d 623, 626 (2d Dep’t 2009); St. Joseph’s Hosp. Health Ctr. v.
Dep’t of Health, 224 A.D.2d 1008, 1008, 637 N.Y.S.2d 821, 823 (4th Dep’t 1996); United Servs.
Auto. Ass’n v. Graham, 21 A.D.2d 657, 657, 249 N.Y.S.2d 788, 790 (1st Dep’t 1964). The rule
also specifies three additional factors that should inform the Court’s exercise of discretion:
(1) the potential for undue delay in the determination of the action; (2) the potential for
substantial prejudice to any of the original parties, and (3) the timeliness of the motion to
intervene. Yuppie Puppy Pet Prod., Inc. v. St. Smart Realty, LLC, 77 A.D.3d 197, 200-01, 906
N.Y.S.2d 231, 235 (1st Dep’t 2010). See also Lamboy v. Gross, 129 Misc. 2d 564, 576, 493
N.Y.S.2d 709, 717 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 1985) (giving consideration to extent to which judicial
economy would be served by intervention), aff’d, 126 A.D.2d 265, 513 N.Y.S.2d 393 (1st Dep’t
1987).
In the instant case, intervention by the Proposed Intervenors will not result in undue delay
or prejudice the substantial rights of any party. The action was only commenced by Plaintiff Pro
Se in November 2016, and he has made no effort to prosecute this case since that time.
Moreover, as the Proposed Intervenors have a real and substantial interest in the outcome of
these proceedings, which concern official actions of the Danish Government. Absent
intervention, Plaintiff Pro Se would in effect be allowed to circumvent well-settled principles of
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sovereign immunity and the FSIA simply by the tactical omission of the foreign governmental
entities that are the real parties at interest. As a consequence, this Court should permit Proposed
Intervenors to intervene in order to remove this case to federal court and rightfully invoke
foreign sovereign immunity as to Proposed Intervenors and foreign official immunity as to the
Foreign Official Defendants.
c. This Court Should Allow Stay The Proceedings Pursuant to C.P.L.R. 2201
Until This Application To Intervene Is Decided
C.P.L.R. 2201 provides: “Except where otherwise proscribed by law, the court in which
an action is pending may grant a stay of proceedings in a proper case, upon such terms as may be
just.” The broad language of the statute affords the trial court substantial discretion when
considering a stay of the proceedings. See Zonghetti v. Jeromack, 150 A.D.2d 561, 562, 541
N.Y.S.2d 235, 237 (2d Dep’t 1989) (holding that a court has “broad discretion to grant a stay in
order to avoid the risk of inconsistent adjudications, application of proof and potential waste of
judicial resources”); Research Corp. v. Singer-Gen. Precision, Inc., 36 A.D.2d 987, 988, 320
N.Y.S.2d 818, 820 (3d Dep’t 1971) (holding that the issuance of a stay pursuant to CPLR 2201 is
discretionary in the trial court).
In the instant case, given the issues of foreign sovereign immunity and foreign official
immunity implicated by Plaintiff Pro Se’s Petition, as well as his demonstrated history as a serial
litigant, this Court should stay the action as against the Foreign Official Defendants in order to
permit Proposed Intervenors to remove this case to federal court under the FSIA, which is the
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appropriate forum for the Danish Government to protect its interests and those of its current and
former officials. (Michailidis Aff. ¶ 14; Michailidis Emergency Aff. ¶ 7.)4
CONCLUSION
For all of the foregoing reasons, Proposed Intervenors respectfully request that the Court
(1) grant them leave to intervene pursuant to N.Y. C.P.L.R. 1012(a) and 1013; (2) stay the
proceedings in the instant action as to the Foreign Official Defendants; and (3) grant such further
relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
Dated: New York, New York
January 30, 2017
Respectfully submitted,
DUANE MORRIS LLP
By: s/ Evangelos Michailidis
Evangelos Michailidis
Ralph Carter
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036-4086
Tel: (212) 692-1000
Email: emichailidis@duanemorris.com
rcarter@duanemorris.com
Attorneys for Proposed Intervenors
4
An additional basis for a stay would be the apparent deficiencies in Plaintiff Pro Se’s attempt to
effect service of process on the Foreign Official Defendants. The service deficiencies are set
forth in detail in the Michailidis Affirmation.
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