Belgrade request for legal action - 10 Jevrema Grujica

UNCLAS BELGRADE 001508 SIPDIS FOR OBO/PRE/BAS/PL - JO ANNE OAKES-BRENNAN L/BA - PAMELA SAUNDERS INFO OBO/AM/EUR - ANGELA SHARPE EUR-IO/EX - STAN PARMENTIER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ABLD AMGT SUBJECT: Belgrade request for legal action - 10 Jevrema Grujica Street REF: MENNUTI - OAKES-BRENNAN EMAILS; 02 BELGRADE 2387 02 STATE 187495 ¶1. This is an action message. Please see paragraph 7 for action. ¶2. Per ref A, post proposes positive legal action to pursue the USG's interests in a house located at 10 Jevrema Grujica Street in Belgrade, Serbia. Post signed a long-term lease and title transfer agreement for this property in 1979 (S-47-FBO-244),with title transfer to take place after September 30, 2009 with no additional payment or consideration. During the closure of post 1990-2001, Zoran ANDRIC, the next-door neighbor of the property, fraudulently appropriated the house. ¶3. In cooperation with the owner and his heirs (the JEVDJEVIC family),the USG has been litigating since 2002 to assert its rights to this property (refs B, C). In 2007, the Second Municipal Court in Belgrade ruled against Andric. In July 2009, the District Court in Belgrade rejected Andric's final appeal and upheld the ruling of the lower court. The District Court ordered the deletion of Andric as the owner and the reentry of the members of the Jevdjevic family in the register; and ordered Andric to vacate the property and to pay court costs to the Jevdjevic family. ¶4. Post proposes to continue to pursue the USG's interest in this property by working with the Jevdjevic heirs to effect the transfer of title from Andric to them, and then to the USG in accordance with Article 7 of the original long-term lease agreement. Once this action is complete, the USG will have standing to petition for enforcement of eviction of Andric and pursue other civil remedies; post will propose separately other legal actions against Andric later if necessary. ¶5. The property is well-located in a good neighborhood, close to post's NEC site. If put back in to post's housing pool, it could probably replace a short-term lease property costing more than $35,000 per year. If putting the residence back in to the housing pool is not practical it could be sold. Similar sized plots of land in the same neighborhood are selling for 750,000 - 1 million Euros. Local real estate agents' estimates on the selling price of the property vary from 1 million to 1.5 million Euros, depending on forecasts of market conditions and the condition of the house. ¶6. Post proposes the Ninkovic Law Firm for this action. This firm has represented the USG in this matter since 2003 and has the experience and background necessary to bring it to a successful conclusion. The firm is small but headed by experienced litigators who primarily serve international firms, as well as other Embassies. The Ninkovic Law Firm made the lowest-priced technically acceptable offer to a written solicitation for legal services. Their offer was $150 per hour, with a total estimated cost of $5,000. ¶7. Action requested: Post requests OBO and L concurrence to pursue the USG's interest in the property by retaining the Ninkovic Law Firm to execute title transfer to the USG. Post also requests the allotment of $5,000 to cover estimated legal fees related to this action. BRUSH