11th Circuit reverses $17M judgment against Venezuela over Bolívar artifacts

ATLANTA (CN) — An 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel threw out a $17 million judgment against Venezuela on Wednesday in a yearslong legal fight over the theft of a Florida man’s collection of Simón Bolívar artifacts.

In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel ruled a lower court should not have entered a default judgment in favor of Ricardo Devengoechea when representatives of Venezuela did not appear in court.

“Devengoechea decided not to seek a default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Embry J. Kidd. “Instead, at Devengoechea’s request, the district court tried the case in absentia — that is, without Venezuela’s presence. This was improper.”

The long-running dispute began in 2007 when Devengoechea lent relics, signed letters and historical documents to Venezuela during the reign of then-president Hugo Chávez . Devengoechea claimed Bolívar gave the items to his great-great grandfather.

Chávez sought the collection of artifacts from the revolutionary leader — which included a Liberation Medal from Peru and a lock of his hair — to confirm Venezuela held Bolívar’s remains through DNA testing.

Years later, Venezuela failed to return the collection to Devengoechea, leading him to sue in Miami federal court. After repeated delays and no-show attorneys — in part due to a regime change in Venezuela — U.S. District Judge Paul Huck, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled in Devengoechea’s favor last year. Venezuela appealed.

“While the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allow a criminal defendant to be tried in absentia, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide no method for a civil defendant to be tried in absentia. The default judgment procedures in Rule 55 are the only method the rules establish for proceeding against a civil defendant who fails to defend,” wrote Kidd, a Joe Biden appointee.

During oral arguments in June in front the appellate panel, Venezuela’s attorney Claire DeLelle did not focus on the violation of federal civil procedure rules but argued that those who negotiated for the collection, including an official with the Venezuelan vice president’s office, were not authorized to represent the country.

“There is nothing about that title that indicates authority to bind the republic to any contract, much less the contract as alleged,” DeLelle said.

Devengoechea’s attorney, Max Price, maintained Chávez initiated the invite to the presidential palace to gain access to the artifacts.

“They had authority, certainly Hugo Chávez, the president of this country, certainly had authority,” Price said. “And at the end of the day, you know who has that collection? Venezuela. They have not returned the collection. They have not paid for it. But they used deception to get a wide-eyed individual to go down to Venezuela with that collection, and they stole it.”

U.S. Circuit Judges Robin S. Rosenbaum, a Barack Obama appointee, and Elizabeth L. Branch, appointed by Donald Trump, joined the opinion.

DeLelle and Price did not respond to a request for comment.

Follow @alexbpickett