Chabad Gets Court Order Allowing Enforcement of Default Judgment For Library Collection Against Russia

In Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, (D DC, July 26, 2011), the D.C. federal district court, finding that defendants had received adequate notice, issued an order permitting a Jewish religious organization to enforce the default judgement it had previously obtained against Russia, its Ministry of Culture and its State Library. The judgment ordered return of a collection of books and artifacts belonging to Chabad which had been lost to them during the World War I and World War II periods and ended up in the hands of the Soviet Union. (See prior posting.)  The Russian Federation had previously withdrawn from participating in the litigation and also announced that it would refuse to loan art and cultural artifacts to art institutions in the United States, fearing that plaintiff would attach them to satisfy its default judgment.  The court's enforcement order, with consent of plaintiff, includes a provision that no execution will be made on property on loan to cultural or educational institutions which is exempt under a special provision of federal law. The court, however, refused to impose immediate sanctions for civil contempt and instead directed defendants to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt. Blog of the Legal Times reports on the decision.