Wultz v. Bank of China Ltd.
Wultz v. Bank of China Ltd.
Opinion of the Court
OPINION AND ORDER
I. INTRODUCTION
This case arises out of the death of Daniel Wultz and the injuries of Yekutiel Wultz, suffered in a 2006 suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel. Four members of the Wultz family brought suit against Bank of China (“BOC”), alleging that BOC provided material support and resources to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (“PIJ”) by executing millions of dollars worth of wire transfers to an alleged PIJ leader, Said al-Shurafa (“Shurafa”). Plaintiffs’ sole remaining claim against BOC is for acts of international terrorism under the Antiterrorism Act (“ATA”).
On September 28, 2012, BOC subpoenaed Bank Hapoalim (“Hapoalim”), a non-party Israeli bank, requesting documents pertaining to any transactions or wire transfers involving Shurafa. Hapoalim produced a number of documents, including transaction records for sixteen wire transfers from a single individual to Shurafa’s BOC accounts, originated at Hapoalim between August 2004 and November 2007.
Hapoalim filed a motion to quash or modify the subpoena on August 12, 2013, arguing that the subpoena violates Rule 45’s prohibition on compelling an individual to travel more than 100 miles from where that person resides, is employed or regularly transacts business in person in order to be deposed.
I referred the dispute to Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein. After extensive briefing, Judge Gorenstein issued a written decision on October 15, 2013 in which he granted Hapoalim’s motion to quash.
Because BOC amended its request and the governing rule has changed, it is no longer proper to address this issue as a Rule 72(a) objection. Rather, I rule on Hapoalim’s motion to quash or modify the amended subpoena de novo.
II. BACKGROUND
A. BOC’s Request
BOC’s explanation as to why it needs testimony from Hapoalim is as follows:
Before and after the April 2005 Israeli-PRC meeting, and before and after the April 2006 terrorist bombing at issue here,*95 Hapoalim originated in Israel at least 16 wire transfers to Shurafa’s BOC accounts. Those transfers totaled $266,100 and comprised 10% of the approximately 160 wire transfers to Shurafa’s BOC accounts. The fact that Shurafa was the beneficiary was clearly indicated on the wire transfer orders that Hapoalim originated. The Israeli government had the jurisdiction, the authority, and the ability to halt any of those Shurafa transfers originated by Hapoalim. BOC seeks Hapoalim’s testimony to determine whether the Israeli government made such efforts. Testimony confirming the absence of Israeli government efforts, at home in Israel, to block Hapoalim’s origination of transfers to Shurafa would make it unreasonable to infer that the Israeli government at the same time traveled thousands of miles to China in an effort to block Shurafa’s receipt of such transfers.11
Hapoalim does not contest that this Court has jurisdiction to issue a subpoena.
III. APPLICABLE LAW
A. Non-Party Subpoenas Under Rules 30(b)(6) and 45
Rule 30(b)(6) provides, in relevant part, that a party’s subpoena for deposition testimony
may name as the deponent a public or private corporation ... and must describe with reasonable particularity the matters for examination. The named organization must then designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or designate other persons who consent to testify on its behalf; and it may set out the matters on which each person designated will testify____ The persons designated must testify about information known or reasonably available to the organization.
A Rule 30(b)(6) request for deposition can be served on a non-party whose attendance can be “compelled by subpoena under Rule 45.”
In Société Natiortale Industrielle Aéros-patiale, the Supreme Court established that the Hague Convention process does not deprive a District Court of the jurisdiction it would otherwise possess “to order a foreign national party before it to produce evidence physically located within a signatory nation.”
Courts in the Second Circuit consider the following five factors, drawn from the Supreme Court’s analysis in Aérospatiale when evaluating the propriety of an order directing the production of documents or testimony that may be in contravention of foreign law:
(1) the importance to the investigation or litigation of the documents or other information requested;
(2) the degree of specificity of the request;
(3) whether the information originated in the United States;
(4) the availability of alternative means of securing the information; and
(5) the extent to which noncompliance with the request would undermine important interests of the United States, or compliance with the request would undermine the important interests of the state where the information is located.19
Courts in the Second Circuit also consider:
(6) the hardship of compliance on the party or witness from whom discovery is sought; and
(7) the good faith of the party resisting discovery.20
C. Israeli Law
The party objecting to a discovery motion based on foreign law bears the burden “ ‘of demonstrating that such law actually bars the production or testimony at issue.’ ”
“ ‘Foreign law, though formerly treated as an issue of fact, is now recognized as an issue of law, to be established by any relevant source, including testimony.’ ”
Hapoalim submits two declarations on Israeli confidentiality and privilege laws from Ehud Arzi, an Israeli lawyer with nearly twenty years of experience in banking and regulatory practice. BOC has not submitted rebuttal declarations or counter-statements of Israeli law.
Israel recognizes
“the right of a client to the confidentiality of information concerning his accounts and business activities in his relations with [a] banking corporation. The protection that is given to a bank’s client against disclosure of the banking information stems either from the right to privacy that is granted in law or from [fiduciary principles] and [the] general duty of trust that a bank owes its clients.”25
The bank-client privilege has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Israel,
“[T]he disclosure of information relating to the bank’s clients may ... constitute a breach of the contractual duty owed by a bank to its client and lead to a civil claim ... for damages.”
2. Banking Ordinance
Israel’s Banking Ordinance governs communications between Israeli banks and the Bank of Israel, the nation’s central banking regulatory authority. Section 15A provides that “no person shall reveal any information delivered to him or show any document submitted to him under this Ordinance or under the Banking (Licensing) Law” and may face criminal penalties of up to one year imprisonment or a fine of 10,000 Israeli pounds for violations.
3. Prohibition on Money Laundering and Prohibition on Terror Financing Laws
The Prohibition on Money Laundering Law “creates an administrative enforcement mechanism by obligating financial service providers to report the activities of their clients [to] a supervisory and audit institution” which analyzes the information and recommends further action to law enforcement,
4. Privilege Against Self-incrimination
Section 47(a) of the Evidence Ordinance establishes the privilege against self-incrimination.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Rule 45 Does Not Bar Hapoalim’s Testimony
Hapoalim is subject to this Court’s subpoena jurisdiction by virtue of having a branch office in New York. Because Rule 45’s geographic restriction applies to Rule 30(b)(6) testimony, the Court cannot compel anyone to travel from Jerusalem to New York to testify at a deposition. The only issue in question is whether requiring Ha-poalim to comply with its affirmative duty to prepare a designee for Rule 30(b)(6) testimony constitutes an undue burden in light of its assertion that all of the individuals with relevant information or knowledge about the Shurafa wire transfers reside or work in Jerusalem. I conclude that it does not.
“Whether a subpoena imposes an ‘undue burden’ ‘depends on such factors as relevance, the need of the party for the documents, the breadth of the document, the time period covered by it, the particularity with which the documents are described and the burden imposed.’ ”
BOC’s amended subpoena has significantly narrowed the deposition topics and described them with sufficient particularity. Further, BOC has sufficiently established the relevance of the sought testimony to its defense against the ATA claim. Plaintiffs’ theory of actual knowledge is premised on alleged warnings from the Israeli government to Chinese regulators in April 2005 about BOC’s Shurafa accounts, approximately one year before the terrorist attack that killed Daniel Wultz and injured Yekutiel Wultz. There is no dispute that Hapoalim originated sixteen wire transfers to Shurafa’s BOC accounts between 2004 and 2007, a time period
Despite its non-party status, Hapoalim has “an affirmative duty to prepare the designee to the extent matters are reasonably available, whether from documents, past employees, or other sources.”
Of course the court cannot compel Hapoalim to designate a specific person. But a court can compel Hapoalim to select a designee and educate her in accordance with its duty under Rule 30(b)(6). “ ‘The testimony elicited at the Rule 30(b)(6) deposition represents the knowledge of the corporation, not of the individual deponents.’ ”
Hapoalim presents no compelling arguments or evidence as to why it should not comply with this duty. Even if Hapoalim is a non-party witness and all of the documents or knowledgeable persons are in Jerusalem, compliance with the 30(b)(6) subpoena is not an undue burden when weighed against BOC’s need for the testimony. A person in New York can easily be educated by a person in Israel by telephone, email or videoconference and relevant documents can easily be transmitted on a single flash drive or CD-ROM. Further, in the age of videoconferencing, Hapoalim can avoid the burden of educating a New York employee altogether by agreeing to a deposition by video, to which BOC has consented.
B. Multi-Factor Comity Analysis
1. Israeli Confidentiality Laws and Privileges
BOC’s amended subpoena seeks testimony on the following topics:
• Topics 1, 2 and 5: information about the sixteen Shurafa -wire transfers, including whether those transfers were executed in the ordinary course of business;
• Topics 3, 4, 6, 7 and 13: whether Hapoal-im communicated with the Israeli government and its central banking regulators about the Shurafa transfers; whether the government took any steps to block or restrict the Shurafa transfers; whether Hapoalim regularly eommuni-*100 eated with the government about anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing issues during this time period;
• Topics 8, 9, 10 and 11: whether Hapoal-im had anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policies in place at the time of the wire transfers; whether Hapoalim conducted any inquiries, noticed any red flags, or warned its constituent banks in connection with the Shura-fa transfers;
• Topic 12: whether Hapoalim provided clearing services for Palestinian banks making wire transfers to Shurafa; and
• Topics 14 and 15: information and clarification about certain public statements made by Hapoalim in 2005 and 2006 pertaining to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts.
Hapoalim does not claim that all of the information sought in the subpoena is protected from disclosure by Israeli law.
According to Hapoalim, some or most of the remaining testimony is protected as follows: (1) Israel’s bank-client confidentiality laws prevent Hapoalim from disclosing information pertaining to the Shurafa wire transfers (Topics 1-2, 5); (2) Section 15A of Israel’s Banking Ordinance forbids it from disclosing any information exchanged with the Bank of Israel, Israel’s banking regulatory authority (Topics 3-4, 6, 13); (3) Israel’s Prohibition on Money Laundering and Prohibition on Terror Financing Laws forbid it from disclosing any information collected and reported to the regulatory agency established by those laws (Topics 1-11, 13); and (4) Israel’s privilege against self-incrimination bars Hapoalim from testifying about certain public statements concerning its capacity to block transactions involving terrorist organizations (Topics 14-15).
2. Determining Whether There Is True Conflict
The threshold question in any comity analysis is to determine whether there is a “true conflict” between domestic and foreign law-that is, whether “compliance with the regulatory laws of both countries would be impossible.”
In this ease, I also find that there is no true conflict with U.S. law based on Israel’s bank-client confidentiality provisions. Hapoalim has already produced various transaction records pertaining to the wire transfers with redacted customer information. Further, plaintiffs, BOC and Hapoalim all know the customer’s identity based on other productions and records. The Israeli bank-client privilege pertains to customer information and transaction history. BOC has
As to the Banking Ordinance and Prohibition on Money Laundering and Terror Financing Laws, BOC contends that there is no “true conflict” because the Israeli laws do not preclude “non-event” testimony — that is, testimony that certain communications or reports did not happen. I disagree, at least as to the Prohibition on Money Laundering and Terror Financing Laws. Section 12 of the Bank of Israel’s Order Prohibiting Money Laundering (Identification Obligations, Reporting and Managing Registries of Banking Corporations) clearly bars the “disclosure of the fact of the crystallization, inexistence or content of [a] report [on various financial activities performed by a client] ... as well as the fact of the existence of a supplementary report.”
3. Applying International Comity Analysis
Having found a true conflict between the laws, I now apply the Second Circuit’s multi-factor international comity analysis to determine whether Hapoalim can be compelled to provide deposition testimony in light of conflicting foreign law. Hapoalim argues that I should follow a recent decision from the Eastern District of New York, where the court, in similar circumstances, granted a motion to quash a subpoena with respect to information that “fall[s] within the confidentiality provisions of [Israeli] laws.”
In Linde v. Arab Bank, PLC, Arab Bank sought discovery from Hapoajim about Ha-poalim’s efforts to identify terrorist organizations and transactions. Arab Bank argued that documents showing Hapoalim’s failure to identify certain terrorist organizations or transactions supported Arab Bank’s defense that its own failure was in good faith.
“In other words, if the documents discovered pursuant to the requests relating to customer accounts and transactions and to compliance protocols reveal that Hapoalim performed banking services for terrorist front organizations and employed similar compliance procedures as Arab Bank, they will be useful in refuting the plaintiffs’ allegations that Arab Bank exercised insufficient caution in dealing with entities that it should have known were terrorist fronts.”57
The court concluded that this information was not critical enough to Arab Bank’s case to compel disclosure. “The documents sought by Arab Bank here would not be direct evidence of a claim or defense; at best, they would serve as circumstantial evidence of Arab Bank’s lack of knowledge.”
In this case, as in Linde, several of the international comity factors are easy to' resolve. Two of these factors weigh in favor of non-disclosure. First, it is undisputed that the information sought originated in Israel. Second, BOC concedes that Hapoalim’s status as a non-party status may weigh the
a. Importance of the Testimony
BOC cites to my previous opinions in this case, in which I ordered BOC to produce documents that were otherwise protected by Chinese bank secrecy laws because I concluded that “discovery regarding ‘the scienter element of plaintiffs’ claim’ is ‘highly important’ to the case and ‘crucial to establishing whether BOC was put on notice that the Shurafa accounts were being used to fund terrorism (if, in fact, they were).’ ”
In Linde, Arab Bank sought evidence of Hapoalim’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies and procedures to show that its own policies and procedures were reasonable and that its failure to identify and block transfers to certain terrorist organizations was in good faith. The Linde court concluded that this testimony would only be tangentially relevant to Arab Bank’s defense. But in this ease, Hapoalim’s documents and testimony are directly relevant to the claims and defenses. Hapoalim originated sixteen wire transfers to Shurafa’s accounts during the time period in question. The existence of these specific transactions alone is sufficient to distinguish Linde. Further, a key allegation in this case is that Israeli government officials were concerned about Shurafa and warned Chinese regulators about his financial activity. Hapoalim, an Israeli bank ostensibly in constant communication with its government about anti-money laundering and terrorist financing issues, originated certain transactions with the Shurafa accounts at BOC. While Hapoalim is certainly not accused of any wrongdoing, its role in the chronology of events is much more relevant to the various fact issues in this case than in Linde.
b. Availability from Other Sources
The Israeli government has asserted state privilege in a collateral proceeding and would likely do so in response to any subpoena from BOC.
c. Balance Between U.S. and Israeli Interests
Hapoalim argues that the Banking Ordinance and Prohibition on Money Laundering and Terror Financing Laws protect Israeli interests “in the confidentiality of communications with Israel’s central bank and the strict enforcement of anti-money laundering and anti-terror laws, while preventing their abuse in the form of leaked confidential data.”
I find Hapoalim’s argument as to Israel’s interests not entirely persuasive. Hapoalim fails to cite even one example of a civil or criminal penalty that was ever actually enforced in connection with these laws. Further, as per Hapoalim’s own expert, Section 15A of the Banking Ordinance and Section 31A of the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law both permit disclosure by court order upon weighing the factors of a case.
At the same time, the “United States has a substantial interest in fully and fairly adjudicating matters before its courts. When that interest is combined with the United States’s goals of combating terrorism, it is elevated to nearly its highest point.”
VI. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Hapoalim’s motion to quash or modify the subpoena is DENIED. If the parties agree to conduct the deposition via videoconference, BOC shall “pay the expense (including a reasonable counsel fee) of the attendance of one attorney” for Hapoalim “at the place where the deposition is to be taken.”
SO ORDERED:
. See 18 U.S.C. § 2333(a).
. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 77.
. See 8/26/13 Declaration of Elissa J. Glasband, Counsel for BOC, V 3.
. A Rule 30(b)(6) deposition notice is proper even though Hapoalim is a non-party. See infra n. 15 and accompanying text.
. See 8/12/13 Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion by Non-Party Bank Hapoalim B.M. to Quash or Modify the Subpoena Dated June 20, 2013 ("Hapoalim Mem.”), at 6-9.
. See id. at 9-24.
. See id. at 25-26.
. See Wultz v. Bank of China, 293 F.R.D. 677, 680-81 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).
. See 1/17/14 Letter from Mitchell R. Berger, Counsel for BOC, to the Court, at 1.
. I am addressing this matter in the first instance without remanding it to the Magistrate Judge for reasons of judicial efficiency.
. 8/26/13 Memorandum of Law on Behalf of Bank of China Ltd. in Opposition to Motion of Bank Hapoalim to Quash or Modify Subpoena for Testimony ("BOC Opp.”), at 2.
. This Court has jurisdiction because Hapoalim does business in New York and has a branch office in New York City.
. Hapoalim Mem. at 6-7.
. Id. at 18-24. In the briefing before Judge Gorenstein, Hapoalim also contended that the subpoena was “overbroad, cumulative, irrelevant and improper.” Now that BOC has substantially narrowed the deposition topics, this is no longer an area of contention.
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 30(a)(1).
. Rule 45 was significantly amended and renumbered on December 1, 2013. I use current section numbering, but note that the parties used older numbering because their briefs were submitted prior to the amendment.
. Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. United States Dist. Ct. for the Southern Dist. of Iowa, 482 U.S. 522, 539-40, 107 S.Ct. 2542, 96 L.Ed.2d 461 (1987).
. Id. at 543-44 & n. 27.
. See Strauss v. Credit Lyonnais, S.A., 249 F.R.D. 429, 438-39 (E.D.N.Y. 2008) (citing Aerospatiale, 482 U.S. at 544 n. 28, 107 S.Ct. 2542; RESTATEMENT (Third) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States § 442(l)(c)).
. See id. (citing Minpeco S.A. v. Conticommodity Servs., Inc., 116 F.R.D. 517, 523 (S.D.N.Y. 1987)).
. Strauss v. Credit Lyonnais, S.A., 242 F.R.D. 199, 207 (E.D.N.Y. 2007) (quoting Alfadda v. Fenn, 149 F.R.D. 28, 34 (S.D.N.Y. 1993)).
. Id. (quoting Alfadda, 149 F.R.D. at 34).
. Id. (quoting Rationis Enters. Inc. of Panama v. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., 426 F.3d 580, 586 (2d Cir. 2005)).
. Wultz v. Bank of China Ltd., 860 F.Supp.2d 225, 230 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (quoting United States v. Peterson, 812 F.2d 486, 490 (9th Cir. 1987)).
. Agricultural Bank for Israel Ltd. v. Mordechai Dagani, District Court for the Central Region, TA (Central) 28621-11-10 (June 2013), quoted in 8/13/13 Declaration of Ehud Arzi ("Arzi Decl.”) V 28.
. See Skoler v. Jerbi, PD 47(5) 764 (1993).
. 5/21/07 Declaration of Ehud Arzi in Connection With Linde et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC, No. 04 Civ. 2799 (E.D.N.Y.) ("Arzi Linde Decl.”) ¶25, Exhibit 3 to Arzi Decl.
. Arzi Dec. ¶ 26.
. Arzi Linde Decl. ¶¶ 26-27.
. Arzi Decl. II34.
. Arzi Linde Decl. ¶ 39.
. Id.
. Id. ¶ 42.
. Arzi Decl. ¶¶ 39-40 (citing Echo-Tech (Micro Parts) Ltd. v. CreditsCards Company in Israel Ltd., 34200-06-11, District Court of Haifa).
. Arzi Linde Decl. ¶ 48.
. Id. V 52.
. See id. ¶ 60.
. See id. ¶ 58. Accord Prohibition on Terror Financing Law § 48(b).
. See Arzi Linde Decl. ¶ 58.
. See id. ¶ 63 (“No person is under obligation to deliver any piece of evidence if it includes the admission of a fact that is one of the elements of an offense of which he stands accused or is liable to be accused.”).
. Id. ¶ 66.
. See id. V 63.
. Koch v. Pechota, No. 10 Civ. 9152, 2013 WL 3892827, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Jul. 25, 2013) (quoting Night Hawk Ltd. v. Briarpatch Ltd., L.P., No. 03 Civ. 1382, 2003 WL 23018833, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2003)).
. Id. (quoting Night Hawk, 2003 WL 23018833, at *8).
. Rahman v. Smith & Wollensky Rest. Group, Inc., No. 06 Civ. 6198, 2009 WL 773344, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 18, 2009) (quotations omitted).
. 9/4/13 Reply Memorandum of Law by Non-Party Bank Hapoalim B.M. to Quash or Modify the Subpoena Dated June 20, 2013 ("Hapoalim Rep.”), at 6.
. Id. (quoting MPD Accessories, B.V. v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., No. 12 Civ. 6501, 2013 WL 4399199, at *12 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2013)).
. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., v. Marvel Enter., Inc., No. 01 Civ. 3016, 2002 WL 1835439, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 8, 2002) (quoting United States v. Taylor, 166 F.R.D. 356, 361-62 (M.D.N.C. 1996)).
. Id.
. Id.
. See Transcript of 1/7/14 Teleconference. This arrangement is permissible under amended Rule 45, which no longer requires a subpoena to issue from the court for the district where the deposition is taken, but rather, "the court where the action is pending.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 45(a)(2).
. Hapoalim's briefing responds to the June 30, 2013 subpoena. The June 30 subpoena was significantly broader in scope but covered many of the same basic topic areas. In deciding this motion, I evaluated the parties' briefing and arguments, as well as the Arzi declarations, as they apply to the amended subpoena, which renumbered and rephrased certain of the requests.
. Filetech S.A. v. France Telecom S.A., 157 F.3d 922, 932 (2d Cir. 1998) (quoting In re Maxwell Comm’n Corp., 93 F.3d 1036, 1050 (2d Cir. 1996)).
. Linde v. Arab Bank, PLC, 262 F.R.D. 136, 147-48 (E.D.N.Y. 2009). The Linde court rejected Ha-poalim's assertion that the self-incrimination privilege served as a bar to production or testimony about the same public statements at issue in this case.
. Arzi Decl. ¶ 47 (emphasis added).
. Linde, 262 F.R.D. at 152.
. Id. at 150.
. Id.
. BOC Opp. at 8.
. See id. at 7, 20.
. See Strauss, 242 F.R.D. at 226 (finding that a bank asserting French bank secrecy laws as a bar to discovery made "good faith, diligent" efforts to secure discovery by making "at least two efforts to contact [its client] for its consent ... and at least three efforts to contact the French Ministry of Justice for guidance.”).
. BOC Opp. at 13-14 (quoting Wultz v. Bank of China, 942 F.Supp.2d 452, 466 (S.D.N.Y. 2013)).
. Hapoalim Rep. at 12.
. See State of Israel v. Wultz, Motion to Quash Subpoena, 13 Misc. 1282 (Dkt. No. 1) (D.D.C. Nov. 15, 2013).
. 1/29/14 Letter from Judge Michael Spitzer, Director of Courts of the State of Israel, to Mitchell Berger, at 2.
. Hapoalim Mem. at 20.
. Id.
. BOC Opp. at 20 (quotation omitted).
. Weiss v. National Westminster Bank, PLC, 242 F.R.D. 33, 45 (E.D.N.Y. 2007) (quotations omitted).
. Id. (holding that "the interests of the United States and United Kingdom in combating terrorism outweigh the British interest in preserving bank customer secrecy” and recognizing that "even if comity analysis weighed in favor of” non-disclosure, production would be appropriate "based on an exception to English bank secrecy”).
. Local Civil Rule 30.1.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Sheryl WULTZ, individually, as personal representative of the Estate of Daniel Wultz, and as the natural guardian of Abraham Leonard Wultz Yekutiel Wultz, individually, as personal representative of the Estate of Daniel Wultz, and as the natural guardian of Abraham Leonard Wultz Amanda Wultz and Abraham Leonard Wultz, minor, by his next friends and guardians Sheryl Wultz and Yekutiel Wultz v. BANK OF CHINA LIMITED
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published