Swezey v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (New York)
Seeking to execute a judgment against the estate of the former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, plaintiff sought access to funds Marcos had entrusted to Merrill Lynch in New York. Our client, the Philippine National Bank, intervened to argue that the Republic of Philippines, which also claimed to own the funds, was a necessary party to the litigation, and that its invocation of sovereign immunity required dismissal of plaintiff’s action. The trial court disagreed. Representing the Philippine National Bank on appeal, we achieved a reversal in New York’s intermediate appellate court and an affirmance of that decision in the New York Court of Appeals.