After the District Court of Columbia entered default judgment against Guinea, A.D. Trade Belgium S.P.R.L. ("AD Trade") is now seeking to enforce that judgment in Delaware. On Friday, August 25, 2023, AD Trade filed a motion seeking a fi fa writ against garnishee Delaware corporation Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (“CBG” or “Garnishee”) in aid of enforcing A.D. Trade’s judgment against the Republic of Guinea (“Guinea”). Garnishee is owned by the state of Guinea (49%), and Harvey Aluminium of Delaware (51%).
AD Trade is seeking attachment of Guinea's stock in CBG. AD Trade is arguing that those shares are not exempt from attachment under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act because they are property used for commercial activity. AD Trade further explains that "[t]he CBG Shares are legally located in this District because, as a matter of Delaware law, 'the situs of the ownership of capital stock of all corporations existing under the laws of this State . . . shall be regarded as in this State,'” pointing out to 8 Del. C. § 169 and Alberta Sec. Comm’n v. Ryckman, 2015 WL 2265473, at *10 (Del. Super. Ct. May 5, 2015) (“For attachment and garnishment purposes, the situs of ownership in a Delaware corporation is Delaware.”), aff’d, 127 A.3d 399 (Del. 2015), for support. According to AD Trade, the shares are in CBG's possession.
AD Trade explains that the Court has already granted this relief in a different proceeding against Guinea, but that the sovereign reached a confidential settlement and so the shares were never auctioned off. See Compagnie Sahelienne D’Enterprise v. Republic of Guinea, C.A. No. 21-mc-530 (D. Del. Feb. 2, 2022).
Earlier this year, the District Court for the District of Delaware authorized the auction of Venezuela's shares in CITGO. We expect Delaware to become an important forum for sovereign litigation and judgment enforcement as a result of that ruling.
The case is A.D. Trade Belgium S.P.R.L. v. Republic of Guinea, 1:23-mc-00358-UNA (D.Del. 2023). AD Trade is represented by Jacob Kirkham, Josef M. Klazen, Darryl G. Stein, Geoffrey J. Derrick from Kobre & Kim.
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