Federal Judge Grants Firm’s Motion to Permit Enforcement Against Libya’s U.S. Assets in Ongoing Efforts to Fulfill $30M Arbitral Award

On December 8, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb (District of Columbia) granted Fishman Haygood client Etrak’s motion for relief against Libya, finding that a reasonable amount of time had passed within which the country could have satisfied the terms of a $30 million arbitral award decided for the Turkish construction company. This ruling now allows Etrak to proceed with attaching Libyan government assets in the United States to fulfill the terms of Judge Cobb’s March 3, 2025, judgment. Read more about her most recent order on Law360 and see even more coverage by The Law Society of Libya.

Etrak’s award, issued in 2019, arises from an arbitration conducted before the International Chamber of Commerce, relating to a Libyan court case for which Libya signed a settlement agreement with Etrak but failed to pay the amounts prescribed. The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected Libya’s attempt to set aside the award.

Following March’s judgment and the country’s latest failure to pay, Judge Cobb granted Etrak’s motion to compel post-judgment discovery against Libyan assets and threatened Libya with a fine of up to $80,000 per week if it did not comply. In the order dated September 19, 2025, Judge Cobb instructed the country to respond within 45 days. Read more about this earlier ruling here.

With still no payment attempts made, in late October 2025 Fishman Haygood filed a motion for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 1610(c) seeking to attach Libya’s assets in execution of the court’s judgment. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, no “attachment or execution” against certain U.S.-based foreign property is permissible unless so ordered by a court. In such circumstances, the claimant must demonstrate that (1) a reasonable amount of time has passed following judgment and that (2) the required notice of a default judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1608(e) has been sent to the foreign state or political subdivision.

In her December 8 response, Judge Cobb found that the statute’s reasonable time standard had been met, stating that not only had nine months elapsed since her judgment but also that Libya had made no attempt to satisfy its terms; in fact, Judge Cobb stated that the country has taken actions “which indicate to the Court that it is attempting to evade its obligation.” She also found that, in this case, the notice requirement imposed by section 1608(e) does not apply because Etrak is not seeking to enforce a default judgment.

Fishman Haygood partners Benjamin Reichard, who heads the firm’s International Arbitration team, and Molly Wells serve as lead counsel to Etrak in the U.S. confirmation and enforcement efforts. Also representing the claimant is Charles Verrill, Jr. of Verrill Advocacy, LLC.

The firm’s International Arbitration team handles a number of disputes arising under bilateral investment treaties (“BIT”s). Sovereign nations enter BITs to protect investors of their country who make investments in their partner country under the treaty. In such matters, the firm represents claimant construction companies in confidential arbitrations against respondent sovereign nations who expropriated or otherwise impaired the claimant’s investment within respondent’s borders in violation of the applicable BIT. Click here to read more about our International Arbitration team.