A New York court order has temporarily halted the issuance of the final ruling concerning the collateral agreement of shares from PDV Holding Inc., until after the New York court selects the winning bidder for CITGO Petroleum Corporation.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla decided to temporarily suspend the enforcement of the Final Judgment issued on October 17, 2025, against PDV Holding Inc. (PDVH), in the context of the case involving Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. and others against MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and others.
The judge believes that this motion is intrinsically linked to the concurrent judicial process before Judge Leonard P. Stark in the Delaware District Court, specifically in the case of Crystallex International Corporation against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The parties agreed to extend the current suspension under Federal Civil Procedure Rule 62(a), for up to seven days after the issuance of the order selecting the winning bidder for PDVH’s shares.
The Suspension Order
On November 14, 2025, Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order that temporarily suspends the enforcement of the Final Judgment against PDV Holding Inc. (PDVH) dated October 17, 2025.
The mentioned judgment from October 17 dismissed claims that the Trustee, in accordance with the Issuance Contract dated October 27, 2016, would recover from PDVSA and PDVSA Petróleo the amount of USD 2,859,193,778.63.
The new decision by Judge Polk Failla is based on a consensus agreement among all parties involved in the litigation. The enforcement of the judgment will remain suspended until seven days after Judge Leonard P. Stark determines who the winning bidder in the CITGO auction is.
This measure aims to prevent interference with the Crystallex case and align the procedural timelines, keeping the original PDVH suspension motion in abeyance during this time.
Agreement of the Parties and Court Proposal
The controversy arises from a motion filed by PDV Holding Inc. (PDVH) to obtain a suspension under Federal Civil Procedure Rule 62 and the court’s equitable powers concerning the enforcement of certain aspects of the Final Judgment issued on October 17, 2025. This judgment directly relates to a “Pledge Agreement” and its associated “Collateral” guarantee.
The court order explicitly states that PDVH’s motion “exists in the shadow of related ongoing proceedings” in Delaware Court. After a phone conference with Judge Stark on November 13, 2025, Katherine Polk Failla expressed her intention for the ruling on the suspension motion to have “the least possible impact on the Crystallex case proceedings.”
Following this, the judge explored with the parties the possibility of consenting to an extension of the automatic suspension provided by Rule 62(a) until Judge Stark issued his decision in the Crystallex case, which was expected by the end of that same month.
As a result, they “agreed to consent to an extension of the current suspension under Rule 62(a), without prejudice, for up to seven days from the issuance of an order selecting the winning bidder in Crystallex v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, No. 1:17-mc-151.”
Terms of the Suspension Order
The Court for the Southern District of New York supported the agreement and formalized the decision in a court order with the following key terms:
Elemento de la ordenDisposiciónMain ActionThe enforcement of the Final Judgment and any proceeding to enforce it is suspended.Duration of SuspensionThe suspension will be effective until the earliest of the following occurs: 1) seven days after Judge Stark’s order in the Crystallex case, or 2) a subsequent order from this same court (Judge Failla).Status of Original MotionThe initial motion by PDVH to obtain the suspension will remain “in abeyance” during the duration of this ordered suspension.