In brief
Following a Supreme Court ruling that allowed victims of international terrorist attacks to pursue legal action in U.S. courts, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a $656 million judgment against the Palestinian authorities. The decision reflects a shift in the legal landscape regarding the accountability of foreign entities for terrorist actions. Plaintiffs expressed relief at the ruling and highlighted their long fight for justice under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
NEW YORK (AP) — A $656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities has been reinstated by appeals judges, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel. The decision from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes a decade after it first tossed out a verdict against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority on the grounds that U.S. courts couldn’t consider lawsuits against foreign groups over overseas attacks that were not aimed at the United States.But the appeals court reinstated the judgment in light of a Supreme Court ruling last June upholding a 2019 law enacted by Congress to allow the victims’ lawsuits to go forward against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.We conclude that the original judgment for the plaintiffs should be reinstated. That conclusion is consistent with the plain import of the Supreme Court’s decision, the judges said in a decision dated March 30. “Our client families are very relieved that the court has reinstated the judgment without requiring a new trial. They have been waiting for a very long time for justice to be done,” attorney Kent Yalowitz said in an email.Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, another attorney for the plaintiffs, expressed satisfaction with the decision after 22 years of litigation. The victims had sued under the Anti-Terrorism Act, signed into law in 1992, which allows U.S. courts to hear cases from victims of international terror attacks.The families maintain that agents of the Palestinian authorities were involved in or incited the attacks, while the Palestinians have consistently argued that these cases should not be permitted in American courts. Emails seeking comment were sent to attorneys for the defendants on Sunday.
