Court amends judgment to add interest on $19.7M award against Republic of Congo

The court amended its judgment to include interest on a $19.7 million award originally granted to the plaintiffs. The underlying judgment stems from a January 31, 2003, ruling by the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, Commercial Court in London, which favored the plaintiffs against the Republic of Congo.

The plaintiffs sought recognition of that foreign judgment in the U.S. court and requested interest at 8% per annum from the date of the English judgment. Judge Loretta A.

Preska granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on June 5, 2007, and entered an amended judgment on July 22, 2007, that superseded the earlier judgment filed on June 8, 2007. This amended judgment formally incorporated the interest component, increasing the total amount owed by the Republic of Congo.

The case remains active, but the docket and court details beyond the judge's name are not publicly available. The amended judgment reflects the court's enforcement of a foreign commercial judgment with interest, a common issue in cross-border litigation involving sovereign defendants.

The plaintiffs have secured a clear win on the recognition and enforcement front, including the accrual of interest to compensate for the delay since the original English ruling. The case highlights the challenges of collecting on large judgments against foreign states and the role of U.S.

courts in giving effect to foreign judgments under principles of comity and statutory recognition.