Mamani, et al. v. Sánchez de Lozada / Mamani, et al. v. Sánchez Berzaín Historic Case

At a Glance

Date Filed: 

September 19, 2007

Current Status 

On April 3, 2018, in a landmark decision, a federal jury found Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín responsible for extrajudicial killings carried out by the Bolivian military, which killed more than 50 of its own citizens and injured hundreds during a period of civil unrest in September and October 2003, and awarded plaintiffs $10 million in compensatory damages. On May 30, 2018, the judge in the case overturned the unanimous jury verdict. The plaintiffs appealed the judge's decision to the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which ruled in their favor on August 3, 2020. On April 5, 2021, the district court judge denied Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín's motions for judgment in their favor on the TVPA claims or for a new trial, which the defendants appealed. The parties agreed to a settlement on September 28, 2023, that provides compensation in an undisclosed amount to the plaintiffs.

Co-Counsel 

David Rudovsky of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg, LLP
Paul Hoffman of Schonbrun, DeSimone, Seplow, Harris and Hoffman LLP
Steven Schulman, Jeremy Bollinger, Jonathan Slowik, and Mariya Hutson of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Susan Farbstein, Thomas Becker, and Tyler Giannini of the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School
Ira Kurzban and Geoffrey Hoffman of Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger & Tetzoli

Client(s) 

Eloy Rojas Mamani
Etelvina Ramos Mamani
Sonia Espejo Villalobos
Hernan Apaza Cutipa
Juan Patricio Quispe Mamani
Teofilo Baltazar Cerro
Juana Valencia De Carvajal
Hermogenes Bernabe Callizaya
Gonzalo Mamani Aguilar
Felicidad Rosa Huanca Quispe

Case Description 

Mamani et al v. Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín is a federal lawsuit brought against the former president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and the former Minister of Defense, Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, for their respective roles in planning and ordering security forces in Bolivia to use deadly military force against unarmed civilians to suppress popular protests against government policies. In all, security forces under their leadership slaughtered 58 citizens and injured more than 400, almost all from indigenous Aymara communities. The suit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) and Florida law, charges Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín with extrajudicial killings and wrongful death for their roles in the massacre of unarmed civilians, including children. 

Each of the nine plaintiffs is the survivor of one of the individuals killed by forces under Sánchez de Lozada's and Sánchez Berzaín's command. Among the nine plaintiffs are Eloy Rojas Mamani and Etelvina Ramos Mamani, whose 8-year-old daughter was killed in her mother's bedroom when a single shot was fired through the window; Teofilo Baltazar Cerro, whose pregnant wife was killed after a bullet was fired through the wall of a house, killing her and her unborn child; Felicidad Rosa Huanca Quispe, whose 69-year-old father was shot and killed along a roadside; and Gonzalo Mamani Aguilar, whose father was shot and killed.

 

Case Timeline

September 28, 2023
Parties agree to settlement
September 28, 2023
Parties agree to settlement
April 5, 2021
Order denying Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín's motions for judgment and new trial
April 5, 2021
Order denying Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín's motions for judgment and new trial
Judge Cohn denies Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín's motions, ruling that plaintiffs established that the killings were unlawful under international law and thus extrajudicial, and that defendants were liable.
November 20, 2020
On remand, Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín file another Rule 50 motion and motion for new trial
November 20, 2020
On remand, Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín file another Rule 50 motion and motion for new trial
Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín argue that plaintiffs' TVPA claims should be dismissed, or that they be granted a new trial on the TVPA claims. Plaintiffs oppose the motion on January 22, 2021, and Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín file their reply on February 19, 2021.
August 3, 2020
Eleventh Circuit vacates district court judge's decision
August 3, 2020
Eleventh Circuit vacates district court judge's decision
The appellate court vacates the trial court judge's decision to overrule the jury verdict and remands the case. The Eleventh Circuit also rules that the plaintiffs are entitled to a new trial on related wrongful-death claims because the district court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence that was favorable to the defendants.
November 19, 2019
Oral argument in appellate court
November 19, 2019
Oral argument in appellate court
The Mamanis travel to Miami to seek justice for their daughter. A three-judge panel hears arguments on the trial judge's decision to set aside the unanimous jury verdict in 2018.
June 27, 2018
Plaintiffs appeal district judge’s decision overruling jury verdict
June 27, 2018
Plaintiffs appeal district judge’s decision overruling jury verdict
Plaintiffs-appellants file their opening brief on October 5, 2018. Amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs-appellants are filed by current and former UN Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions on October 11, 2018 and by retired U.S. military commanders and law of war scholars on October 12, 2018. Defendants-appellees file their brief on January 4, 2019, and plaintiffs-appellants file their reply on February 25, 2019.
May 30, 2018
Judge Cohn overturns unanimous jury verdict under Rule 50
May 30, 2018
Judge Cohn overturns unanimous jury verdict under Rule 50
Judge James I. Cohn grants a motion by the defendants that argues there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict, overruling the jury's decision.
April 3, 2018
Jury rules in favor of plaintiffs
April 3, 2018
Jury rules in favor of plaintiffs
The jury finds that Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín were legally responsible for the extrajudicial killings and made decisions to deploy military forces in civilian communities in order to violently quash opposition to their policies. It awards the plaintiffs $10 million in compensatory damages.
March 5, 2018 - April 3, 2018
Trial in federal court in Ft. Lauderdale
March 5, 2018 - April 3, 2018
Trial in federal court in Ft. Lauderdale
The trial marks the first time that a former head of state sits before his accusers in a civil human rights trial in a U.S. court.
February 14, 2018
Judge Cohn denies motion for summary judgment, allowing case to proceed to trial
February 14, 2018
Judge Cohn denies motion for summary judgment, allowing case to proceed to trial
The district court holds that plaintiffs have gathered sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, marking the first time that a former head of state will sit before his accusers in a civil human rights trial in a U.S. court.
November 28, 2017
Defendants file motion for summary judgment
November 28, 2017
Defendants file motion for summary judgment
Plaintiffs file their opposition on December 29, 2017, Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín file their reply on January 12, 2018, and plaintiffs file a sur-reply on January 24, 2018.
April 17, 2017
Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín are denied review by U.S. Supreme Court
April 17, 2017
Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín are denied review by U.S. Supreme Court

Defendants file a petition for a writ of certiorari on December 2, 2016. Plaintiffs file their opposition brief on March 6, 2017, and defendants file their reply on March 22, 2017.

October 17, 2016
Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín answer complaint
October 17, 2016
Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín answer complaint
October 2016 - August 2017
Discovery is underway
October 2016 - August 2017
Discovery is underway
Both sides exchange documents and take depositions in the U.S. and Bolivia.
July 7, 2016

Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín seek rehearing en banc

July 7, 2016

Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín seek rehearing en banc

The petition for rehearing is denied on September 6, 2016.
June 16, 2016
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirms denial of motion to dismiss TVPA claims
June 16, 2016
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirms denial of motion to dismiss TVPA claims
Judges Carnes, Tjoflat, and Sentelle rule in a unanimous decision that the TVPA claims are not barred because the plaintiffs received local remedies in Bolivia.
May 14, 2015
Former president Sánchez de Lozada is deposed
May 14, 2015
Former president Sánchez de Lozada is deposed

In a deposition, former president Sánchez de Lozada answers questions about his actions for the first time.

August 2014 - June 2015

Case stayed pending second interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit

August 2014 - June 2015

Case stayed pending second interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit

Judge Cohn grants the defendants' motion for certification for interlocutory appeal and stays the case on August 19, 2014. The Eleventh Circuit grants the defendants' petition for a second interlocutory appeal. Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín file their brief to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on January 14, 2015. CCR and co-counsel file our brief on behalf of our clients on March 6, 2015.  Military law scholars and international human rights law professors file amicus briefs on March 13, 2015. Oral argument is held on June 11, 2015.

September 2013 - May 2014
Plaintiffs' TVPA claims survive second motion to dismiss
September 2013 - May 2014
Plaintiffs' TVPA claims survive second motion to dismiss

Defendants file a motion to dismiss the complaint on September 19, 2013. We file our opposition to the motion to dismiss on December 18, 2013 and defendants file their reply in support of the motion to dismiss on January 27, 2014. On May 20, 2014, Judge James Cohn dismisses our claims under the Alien Tort Statute but holds that our claims under the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) can proceed because they sufficiently allege facts that “plausibly suggest that these killings were deliberate” and that defendants are responsible for the killings. Judge Cohn also rules that humanitarian assistance to the plaintiffs from the Bolivian government does not bar the TVPA claims.

June 2013

Case reopens and CCR and co-counsel file amended complaint with new allegations

June 2013

Case reopens and CCR and co-counsel file amended complaint with new allegations

Following the Supreme Court's decision in Kiobel, both sides file a consent motion to reopen the case on June 6, 2013. As the tenth anniversary of government-planned massacres in Bolivia approaches, we file an amended complaint on behalf of our clients with extensive new factual allegations linking the defendants to the killings, including evidence that the defendants had devised a plan to kill thousands of civilians months in advance of the violence.

The new complaint alleges that the defendants calculated it would take thousands of civilian deaths to stop anticipated protests over a controversial economic policy. They refused to consider dialogue, traditional police practices, or other less violent alternatives to massive lethal force against the protestors. The defendants specifically relied on military forces, including special forces, to target innocent civilians as part of their campaign of repression. New details also show how the defendants were intimately involved in carrying out the planned violence, including participating in the operations against the civilian population. Notwithstanding these facts, Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín have enjoyed safe harbor in the United States for nearly a decade.

2011

Eleventh Circuit reverses decision on motion to dismiss and remands case back to district court 

2011

Eleventh Circuit reverses decision on motion to dismiss and remands case back to district court 

On July 15, 2010, Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín file an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, arguing that they are entitled to immunity, that the case presents a non-justiciable political question, and that the claims for extrajudicial killing and crimes against humanity are not actionable under the ATS. 

Oral argument regarding the appeal takes place on May 17, 2011, and on August 29, 2011, the appellate court rejects the immunity and political question arguments, but dismisses the complaint for failure to state a claim under the ATS. CCR and co-counsel file a petition for rehearing on behlaf of our clients, which is denied. On remand to the district court, both sides file a consent motion to stay the case pending judgment by the Supreme Court in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which is granted.

2010

Case is stayed pending interlocutory appeal

2010

Case is stayed pending interlocutory appeal

Following the district court's ruling that the our claims were viable and could proceed, defendants file a notice of interlocutory appeal and a motion to stay pending appeal. On March 16, 2010, Judge Jordan grants the defendants' motion to stay the case pending appeal. The Eleventh Circuit then grants the defendants' petition for an interlocutory appeal.

2008 - 2009

CCR and co-counsel prevail on defendants' motion to dismiss

2008 - 2009

CCR and co-counsel prevail on defendants' motion to dismiss

After briefing and oral argument on the defendants' motion to dismiss the case, in November 2009, the district court rules in our favor, allowing claims for crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, and wrongful death to move forward against the defendants. The decision reaffirms that U.S. courts can hear actions brought against those who commit human rights abuses and that foreign heads of state cannot act with impunity.

June 2008

Bolivian government waives immunity for defendants

June 2008

Bolivian government waives immunity for defendants

In June 2008, the government of Bolivia waives any immunity that either of the defendants might claim, and in October 2008, the U.S. government accepts that waiver.
September 2007

Surviving family members of massacre victims file complaints against Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín

September 2007

Surviving family members of massacre victims file complaints against Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín

In 2007, two complaints are filed in federal court, one in the District of Maryland against Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, the former President of Bolivia, and the other in the Southern District of Florida against Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, the former Minister of Defense, charging both men for their roles in planning and ordering extrajudicial killings of civilians between September and October of 2003 in an effort to repress protests over their controversial economic policies. In 2008, the case against Sánchez de Lozada is consolidated with the Sánchez Berzaín case in the Southern District of Florida for pre-trial purposes, and plaintiffs file an amended complaint to include the charges against both officials.