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Motion for Judgment on Default and to Schedule an Evidentiary Hearing

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Motion for Judgment on Default and to Schedule an Evidentiary Hearing Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31 Filed 05/25/16 Page 1 of 4 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -------------------------------------------------------------------- X SHMUEL ELIMELECH BRAUN, et al., Plaintiff, Docket No: 1:15-CV-01136(BAH) -against- THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, et al., Defendants. -------------------------------------------------------------------- X MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON DEFAULT AND TO SCHEDULE AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING Plaintiffs respectfully move this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1608(e): (1) for entry of a judgment on default as against the defendants (a) The Islamic Republic of Iran (“Iran”), (b) the Ministry of Information and Security (“MOIS”) and (c) the Syrian Arab Republic (“Syria”) and (2) to schedule an evidentiary hearing at which plaintiffs will present testimony and evidence in support of their claims for relief against these defendants. In support of the motion, plaintiffs respectfully state as follows: 1. The Clerk has noted these defendants’ defaults (DE 27; 30). 2. While entry of default normally establishes a defendant’s liability, the FSIA provides that: “No judgment by default shall be entered . against a foreign state, a political subdivision thereof, or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state, unless the claimant establishes his right to relief by evidence satisfactory to the court.” FSIA § 1608(e). 3. Accordingly, plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court schedule an evidentiary hearing at which plaintiffs will present testimony and evidence in support of their claims for Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31 Filed 05/25/16 Page 2 of 4 relief, following which plaintiffs respectfully request that the court enter a judgment on default as against each of the defendants: (a) Iran, (b) MOIS and (c) Syria. 4. Due to the logistics of travel for many of plaintiffs’ witnesses and the Jewish high holidays, which fall during the month of October this year, plaintiffs respectfully request that the hearing not be scheduled between the following dates: September 26, 2016 and October 31, 2016. 5. In support of their request for a default judgment, plaintiffs intend to present testimony on liability from the following experts: (1) Dr. Patrick Clawson to address Iran’s provision of material support to Hamas, (2) Dr. Marius Deeb to address Syria’s provision of material support to Hamas, (3) Arieh Spitzen, Israel Defense Forces Colonel (retired) to address Hamas responsibility for the attack, (4) Dr. Matthew Levitt to address Iran’s provision of material support to Hamas, and (5) Dr. Benedetta Berti to address Syria’s provision of material support to Hamas. The sworn declarations of Dr. Patrick Clawson, Dr. Marius Deeb and Arieh Dan Spitzen summarizing the opinions about which they will testify are attached hereto as Exhibits 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The sworn declarations of Dr. Matthew Levitt and Dr. Benedetta Berti summarizing their opinions are being finalized and will be filed within the next six to eight weeks. 6. In support of their request for a default judgment, plaintiffs also intend to present testimony from each of the plaintiffs regarding their damages. The following sworn declarations are attached hereto as Exhibits 4-9, respectively: Exhibit 4 – Declaration of Chana Braun Exhibit 5 – Declaration of Shmuel Elimelech Braun Exhibit 6 – Declaration of Esther Braun -2- Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31 Filed 05/25/16 Page 3 of 4 Exhibit 7 – Declaration of Murray Braun Exhibit 8 – Declaration of Sara Halperin Exhibit 9 – Declaration of Shimshon (Sam) Halperin 7. In addition, plaintiffs intend to present testimony from: (1) Dr. Alan Friedman, MD as a medical expert concerning plaintiff Shmuel Elimelech Braun’s physical damages and (2) Dr. Rael Strous, MD as a psychiatric expert concerning each of plaintiffs’ psychological and emotional damages. The sworn declaration of Dr. Alan Friedman is attached hereto as Exhibit 10. The sworn declarations of Dr. Strous for each plaintiff are attached hereto as Exhibits 11-16, respectively. WHEREFORE, plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court schedule an evidentiary hearing at which plaintiffs will present testimony and evidence in support of their claims for relief, following which plaintiffs respectfully request that the court enter a judgment on default as against each of the defendants – Iran, MOIS and Syria, and grant any other relief the Court finds just and proper. Dated: Brooklyn, New York May 25, 2016 Respectfully submitted, THE BERKMAN LAW OFFICE, LLC Attorneys for the Plaintiff by: Robert J. Tolchin 111 Livingston Street, Suite 1928 Brooklyn, New York 11201 718-855-3627 -3- Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31 Filed 05/25/16 Page 4 of 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned hereby certifies that on the date indicated below a true copy of the foregoing was served via ECF on all counsel of record herein: Dated: Brooklyn, New York May 25, 2016 Robert J. Tolchin Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31-17 Filed 05/25/16 Page 1 of 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -------------------------------------------------------------------- X SHMUEL ELIMELECH BRAUN, et al., Plaintiff, Docket No: 1:15-CV-01136(BAH) -against- THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, et al., Defendants. -------------------------------------------------------------------- X [Proposed] ORDER For the reasons set forth in Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on Default, it is hereby: ORDERED, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1608(e), that an evidentiary hearing is scheduled in this matter for ________________, 2016, following which the Court will consider plaintiffs’ request for a judgment on default. SO ORDERED Date: ___________________________ Chief United States District Judge Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31-16 Filed 05/25/16 Page 1 of 31 EXHIBIT 16 Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31-16 Filed 05/25/16 Page 2 of 31 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) SHMUEL ELIMELECH BRAUN, et. al. ) ) Plaintiff, ) Civ. No. 1:15-cv-01136-BAH ) v. ) ) THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________ ) EXPERT DECLARATION OF DR. RAEL STROUS Re: Sam Halperin I have been retained by the Plaintiffs in the matter of Braun v. The Islamic Republic of Iran to provide a report and testimony regarding the mental health of Sam Halperin. Professional Qualifications 1. I am a Medical Doctor specializing in psychiatry. I am currently employed as the Deputy Hospital Director and Director of the Ambulatory Service of the Be’er Yaakov Mental Health Center located in Be’er Yaakov, Israel. I also serve as Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at the Tel Aviv University and maintain a small private practice in clinical psychiatry. 2. I received my medical degree in 1989 from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Between 1992 and 1996, I performed my residency in psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. In 1996, I served as Chief Resident at the Bronx Psychiatric State Hospital. From 1996 through 1998, I performed a Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31-16 Filed 05/25/16 Page 3 of 31 Expert Declaration of Dr. Rael Strous Re. Sam Halperin 24 May 2016 Page 2 of 5 clinical research fellowship in psychopharmacology at the Commonwealth Research Center, Massachusetts Mental Health Center affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. 3. Before embarking on my career in psychiatry, I served as an emergency room doctor and as a general physician in pediatrics and trauma. 4. I have approximately 150 peer reviewed research publications to my name including several in the field of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 5. Based on my education and experience as outlined above, I have provided expert reports that were submitted as exhibits in Biton v. The Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, et al., 01 CV 382 (RWR), Gilmore v. The Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority et al., 01-cv-00853 (GK), Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran 01-1655 (RCL), Ben Haim v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 02-01811 (RCL) and Kaplan v. Hezbollah, et al., No. 09-cv- 646 (RWR) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Leibovitch v. The Syrian Arab Republic et al., 08 CV 01939 (WTH) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and in Shatsky v. The Syrian Arab Republic et. al., 02-2280-RJL in the United States District Court of the District of Columbia. I testified at a deposition in, Saperstein v. Palestinian Authority, Case No. 0420225-CIV-Turnoff in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. I have testified as an expert at one trial Sokolow vs Palestinian Liberation Organization et al., 04-CV-397(GBD). In Israel, I have also submitted court mandated evaluations of psychiatric patients. 6. A copy of my curriculum vitae including a list of all publications authored by me within the preceding ten years is attached hereto. Case 1:15-cv-01136-BAH Document 31-16 Filed 05/25/16 Page 4 of 31 Expert Declaration of Dr. Rael Strous Re. Sam Halperin 24 May 2016 Page 3 of 5 7. I have been asked to provide an evaluation for Sam Halperin. To prepare this evaluation, I examined Plaintiff Sam Halperin on 3 May 2016. Upon examining Sam Halperin, I prepared a written Psychiatric Evaluation for him. That written Psychiatric Evaluation represented my professional assessment of Sam Halperin. Accordingly, I incorporate by reference into this report the Psychiatric Evaluation regarding Plaintiff Sam Halperin dated 3 May 2016 (attached hereto). Psychiatric Disorders 8. To facilitate understanding and analysis of the Psychiatric Evaluation, I am including a brief explanation of Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder which afflicts Sam Halperin as indicated in his Psychiatric Evaluation.
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