Palladian Partners LP v. Province of Buenos Aires

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS AND TRANSFERRING THIS CASE TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Plaintiff Palladian Partners, L.P. (“Palladian”) petitions this Court for recognition and enforcement of two German court judgments against Defendant Province of Buenos Aires (“Province”). Defendant moves to dismiss this claim on the ground that venue does not lie in this district. Defendant is correct. Venue does not lie in the Southern District of New York. Plaintiff has not demonstrated that a substantial amount of property subject to this action is situated in this district, Commissions Imp. Exp. S.A. v. Republic of the Congo, No. 11 CIV. 6176 JFK, 2012 WL 1468486, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 2012), and there is no evidence that the Defendant waived any objection to venue for an enforcement action brought in this district. However, as both parties agree that venue lies in the District of Columbia, the better course of action is to DENY Defendant’s motion to dismiss and TRANSFER this lawsuit to the District of Columbia, where it can be adjudicated. I. BACKGROUND Plaintiff is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. (Compl. at 4). Defendant is a political subdivision of the Republic of Argentina (the “Republic”), a “foreign state” as defined in 28 U.S.C. §1603(a). (Id. at 5). A. Issuing the Bonds Between May 1999 and April 2000, Defendant issued three sets of euro-denominated bonds (“Bonds”), under German law, held in custody by German stock exchange operator, Deutsche Borse Clearing AG (now known as Clearstream Banking S.A., Frankfurt am Main). (Id. at 10). Plaintiff is the holder of an approximately €2.7 million beneficial interest in the Bonds. (Id. at