| Senegal and UN PR Seck
Default To Architect Diedhiou Vacated But Now
They Must Respond
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 19 – Senegal, through its
Mission to the UN in New York
with Permanent Representative
Fode Seck, were sued earlier
this year for $1 million by a
Senegalese architect who says
they ripped him off.
On
Christmas Day Inner City Press
reported
that the architect had filed
to win by default. Senegal has
not put in any response at
all.
But when
Inner City Press' report was
picked up in Senegal, by and Senxibar,
this arrogant response was
proffered: "Senegal faces
condemnation in the United
States. According to the Obs,
which quotes Inner City Press,
a media specializing in the
coverage of legal cases, the
Senegalese mission to the
United Nations and its former
ambassador, Fodé Seck, are
being sued... Pierre Goudiaby
Atepa indicates that his
nephew is confusing people's
heads and that he himself is a
victim in this affair. Better,
he made it known that Fodé
Seck has nothing to do in this
affair."
Note
to Seck, and other diplomats
seeking to emulate the
impunity of UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres -
thumbing your nose at a legal
system is not a good look.
On January 11,
Senegal belatedly made an
appearance in the SDNY case,
with this suburban lawyer:
"Ryanne Konan Law Office and
Legal Services Ryanne Konan,
Esq. ryannekonan Attorney for
Defendant, 4 Marshall Road,
Suite 248 Wappingers Falls, NY
12590." His video is here.
It cited dog bites, and shows
a New York Post article about
porn.
And now on
January 19, game on: "Given
this Circuit's preference for
resolving disputes on the
merits, Senegal's explanation
for its initial delay in
appearing in this case and
prompt effort to seek vacatur,
and the early posture of this
case, the Court hereby GRANTS
Senegal's motion to vacate the
Clerk's certificate of
default. The Clerk of Court is
respectfully instructed to
vacate the certificate of
default. The parties are
instructed to confer and
jointly stipulate to a date by
which Senegal must answer,
move, otherwise respond to the
Complaint. Such stipulation
must be filed with the Court
by no later than January 22,
2021. (Signed by Judge Edgardo
Ramos on 1/18/2021)." Watch
this site.
The architect
says his claim is not blocked
by sovereign or diplomatic
immunity, so common around
today's UN, since Senegal was
developing commercial real
estate.
In the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York,
which Inner City Press covers
daily including Cheikh Gadio
along with the UN while being
banned
by UNSG Antonio Guterres from
entering the UN due to its
reporting on UN corruption,
Pape M. Diedhiou filed a
lawsuit on July 23, 2020, for
more than $1 million.
And on
December 25, this has been
filed: "Defendant, the
Republic of Senegal, was
properly served under Fed. R.
Civ. P. 4 and 28 U.S.C. §
1608, and proof of service has
been filed with the Court. 3)
The time for Defendant to
answer or otherwise move with
respect to Plaintiff’s
complaint herein has expired.
4) Defendant is not an infant
or incompetent person."
Actually, the Senegal Mission
or PR may well be incompetent.
Diedhiou
recounts that after
substantial work, in May 2016
he "sent an invoice to Fode
Seck, who had replaced [Paul]
Badji as Senegal's Permanent
Representative to the UN."
Seck has led the
UN's Committee on the
Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People - but he
did not pay Diedhiou for his
work. The lawsuit followed.
Inner City Press will be
following it. Watch this
site.
***
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