Judge Pauses $11.5 Million TRIA Turnover in Jeremy Levin Case Over Due Process

RAPID CITY (LN) — A federal judge on Monday deferred ruling on a motion for summary judgment in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act lawsuit brought of slain journalist Jeremy Levin, holding that due process requires the plaintiffs to provide notice to ten Iranian front companies before executing on their blocked assets.

U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier ordered the Levins to notify the entities, which include KAKA Global Trading Co. Limited and Oriental Apple Company PTE Ltd., of the execution proceedings. The order requires the notice to specify that the companies have 30 days following service to file objections to the writ of execution.

The Levins sought to turn over 16 electronic funds transfers totaling $11.5 million held by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The funds were blocked by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Wells Fargo did not oppose the Levins’ motion on the merits but argued that the court should consider whether notice was required for parties whose property was subject to execution. The bank stated it “believes that other parties may be better suited to evaluate and potentially challenge [the Levins’] arguments.”

The Levins argued that neither the TRIA nor South Dakota law requires notice to “unspecified third parties.” They contended that the Iranian front companies had already received notice through their OFAC designations and that South Dakota’s garnishment statutes do not impose a notice burden on plaintiffs.

Schreier rejected that argument, adopting the Eleventh Circuit’s reasoning in Stansell v. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The court found that the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause requires alleged agencies or instrumentalities of a terrorist party to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before their assets are executed.

“Simply receiving notice of an OFAC designation is inadequate to satisfy the requirements of due process because it only notifies an alleged agency or instrumentality that its assets have been blocked and of the potential for TRIA execution,” Schreier wrote.

The case stems from the 1984 kidnapping and torture of CNN Bureau Chief Jeremy Levin in Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists. The Levins obtained a $28.8 million judgment against Iran and its agencies in 2008. As of October 2025, the uncollected balance was $16 million.

The United States intervened in the case but did not oppose the Levins’ motion for summary judgment.