DOE v. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Cite as 414 F.Supp.3d 109 (D.D.C. 2019)
the typical array of compensatory damages
that may be awarded against tortfeasors’’
in the plaintiffs’ states. Id. at 77. It also
awarded damages for the ‘‘pain and suffering endured by [the plaintiffs] over the
eleven months of their captivity [that] was
extensive and shocking’’ and ‘‘likely will
continue to endure throughout the rest of
their lives.’’ Id. The factual findings in
Massie supply many of the relevant facts
here.
2. This Action
The plaintiffs in this case comprise 46
surviving crew members of the Pueblo,1 89
of the crew’s immediate family members,2
and 36 estates of deceased crew members
or their deceased immediate family members.3 The identities of the former crew
members have been masked, and any personal identifying information has been
sealed. See generally Am. Compl, Dkt. 14.
The plaintiffs seek money damages for
torture, hostage taking, assault, battery,
false imprisonment, intentional infliction of
emotional distress, and loss of solatium
under § 1605A(c)’s private right of action
for money damages for personal injury
caused by state sponsors of terrorism. Am.
Compl. ¶ 19.
North Korea was properly served with a
summons and copy of the complaint and a
translation of those documents on April 4,
2018. Summons Returned Executed, Dkt.
117
19.4 Under 28 U.S.C. § 1608(d), North
Korea had sixty days—until June 3,
2018—to respond. After North Korea
failed to either appear or respond, the
Clerk of the Court entered a default on
June 11, 2018. Clerk’s Entry of Default,
Dkt. 21. The plaintiffs then requested that
the Court take judicial notice of the findings in Massie and of the expert testimony
about the North Korean regime given in
Warmbier v. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 356 F. Supp. 3d 30 (D.D.C.
2018), and moved for a default judgment.
Pls.’ Mot. for Partial J. Liability 1, Dkt. 49
(Pls.’ Mot.).
B.
Relevant Findings of Fact
[1–3] The Court’s factual findings are
drawn from the plaintiffs’ numerous affidavits and declarations, the public record,
and Judge Kennedy’s findings in Massie.
A court may take judicial notice of any fact
‘‘not subject to reasonable dispute because
it TTT can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot
reasonably be questioned.’’ Fed. R. Evid.
201(b). A series of FSIA-related cases will
often stem from one terrorist attack, and
‘‘[c]ourts in this District have thus frequently taken judicial notice of earlier, related proceedings.’’ Rimkus v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 750 F. Supp. 2d 163, 171
(D.D.C. 2010) (citations omitted). The
1.
Plaintiffs A-1, A-2 and A-4 through A-49. See
Am. Compl. App’x I, Dkt. 5; Am. Compl.
App’x II, Dkt. 13. The estates of plaintiffs A-3,
A-45, and A-37 were substituted for those
plaintiffs. See Pls.’ Mots. to Substitute at Dkts.
42, 43, and 58.
3.
Plaintiffs A-3, A-35, A-37, B-73, and C-1
through C-32. See Am. Compl. App’x I; Am.
Compl. App’x II; Pls.’ First Mot. to Substitute.
The estates of plaintiffs C-4 and C-32 were
substituted for plaintiffs C-4 and C-32. See
Pls.’ First Mot. to Substitute; Pls.’ Second
Mot. to Substitute, Dkt. 69.
2.
Plaintiffs B-2 through B-72 and B-74
through B-91. See Am. Compl. App’x I; Am.
Compl. App’x II. Plaintiff B-73’s estate was
substituted for plaintiff B-73. See Pls.’ First
Mot. to Substitute. Plaintiff B-1 voluntarily
dismissed her claim without prejudice. See
Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, Dkt. 76.
4.
Consistent with the requirements of 28
U.S.C. § 1608(a)(3), the Clerk of Courts
mailed the summons and complaint and Korean translations of each to the ministry of
foreign affairs of North Korea using the DHL
International service. See Gates v. Syrian Arab
Republic, 646 F.3d 1, 4 (D.C. Cir. 2011).