30th Libertad Act Title III Lawsuit Filed- This One Against Societe Generale And BNP Paribas, Both Of France, May Have Found Jurisdiction In New York

This is the thirtieth (30th) Libertad Act Title III lawsuit filed since 2 May 2019.  LINK To Filing Statistics  

With the new lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York, each defendant has financial transactions flowing through New York State and those financial transactions are subject to United States legal jurisdiction. A similar lawsuit was filed in Florida, then moved to New York.  Now, a second lawsuit was filed in New York.  Why? Finding a court with jurisdiction. 

JUAN B. PUJOL MOREIRA, in his personal capacity, and as Personal Representative and Administrator of the ESTATE OF NIEVES PUJOL, a/k/a NIEVES MOREIRA MARTINEZ, MARIA JULIA PUJOL MOREIRA, INES MARIA PUJOL FAGET, as Personal Representative and Executor of the ESTATE OF ARCADIO JOAQUIN PUJOL IZQUIERDO, SARA L. PUJOL, as Personal Representative and Administrator of the ESTATE OF LAUREANO PUJOL ROJAS, LUIS R. PUJOL ROJAS, ANA H. FRAGA, LORENZO PEREZ PUJOL, FRANCISCO PUJOL MENESES, PILAR M. PUJOL MENESES, and RAUL PUJOL MENESES, Plaintiffs, v. SOCIETE GENERALE, S.A. and BNP PARIBAS, S.A. [1:20-cv-09380; Southern District Of New York] 

Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP (plaintiff)
MoloLamken LLC (plaintiff)

Complaint (11/9/20)
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
Exhibit 3
Exhibit 4

Excerpts From Complaint: 

JURISDICTION AND VENUE 

Defendant Societe Generale, S.A., is a multinational bank headquartered at 29 Blvd. Haussman, 9th Arrondissement, Paris, France. SocGen purposefully availed itself of the privilege of doing business in this forum by maintaining a branch in this forum and by conducting banking business in New York through its branch located at 245 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10029. Using that branch, SocGen has maintained credit facilities that have cleared a substantial number of payments on behalf of BNC.2 Plaintiffs' claim arises out of those transactions involving SocGen's New York branch. SocGen has been present in the United States since the 1930s, and continues to maintain a substantial presence, employing more than 2,500 people in North America.  Defendant BNP Paribas, S.A., is a multinational bank headquartered at 16 Blvd. des Italiens, Paris, France. Paribas purposefully availed itself of the privilege of doing business in this forum by maintaining a branch in this District at 787 7th Avenue, New York, New York 10019. Paribas has maintained credit facilities and routed wire transfers for BNC's benefit through its New York branch. Plaintiffs' claim arises out of those transactions involving Paribas' New York branch.3 Paribas has been present in the United States since the late 1800s, and continues to maintain a substantial presence, employing more than 16,000 people in North America.  This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction over this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Plaintiffs bring a civil action that arises under federal law, 22 U.S.C. § 6082.  Venue is proper in the Southern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1) because Defendants reside or are deemed to reside in the Southern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(c) and (d). Venue is also proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2) because a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this District, including each Defendant's use of its respective New York branch to maintain credit facilities or process wires for the benefit of BNC. Alternatively, venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(3) because Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in this District with respect to this action. 

SocGen's Trafficking 

The U.S. economic embargo of Cuba restricts access to U.S. dollars important for transacting business in international markets. U.S. law restricts, for example, BNC's ability to use the U.S. financial system to conduct business in dollars-either to promote its own interests or to serve clients-by limiting U.S. banks' ability to process transactions involving BNC.  For that reason, most "[f]inancial institutions in the United States that process U.S. dollar transactions from other countries utilize sophisticated filters designed to identify and block or reject any transactions involving entities that have been sanctioned by [the Office of Foreign Asset Control]," including BNC.5 To evade those restrictions and avoid having critical transactions blocked, BNC obtained assistance from SocGen. As SocGen admitted in a deferred prosecution agreement, it unlawfully provided "a Cuban government bank" (i.e., BNC) and other Cuban entities access to U.S. dollars and the U.S. financial system. 

Related Lawsuit: 

SUCESORES DE DON CARLOS NUNEZ Y DONA PURA GALVEZ, INC., BDA BANO NUNEZ V. SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE, S.A., D/B/A SG AMERICAS, INC.; THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, D/B/A SCOTIA HOLDINGS (US) INC., A/K/A THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, MIAMI AGENCY; THE NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA, D/B/A NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.; AND BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A., D/B/A BBVA, USA., [1:19-cv-22842; Southern Florida District].  NOTE: Case transferred to New York Southern District On 2 February 2020 [1:20-cv-00851].  Current defendants Societe Generale, S.A. and BNP Paribas, S.A. 

Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP (plaintiff)
Law Offices Of Paul Sack P.A. (plaintiff)
MoloLamken LLC (plaintiff)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (defendant)
Mayer Brown LLP (defendant)
Reed Smith LLP (defendant)
Astigarraga Davis Mullins & Grossman (defendant)