9/11 Victims Lose in Appeals Court

Some bad news for victims of 9/11 and their families in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The hopes of plaintiffs who attempted to hold dozens of foreign organizations and individuals responsible for aiding and abetting al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were dashed yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

In three separate decisions in multi-district litigation over the attacks, the circuit upheld the dismissal of claims brought against most of the defendants, including the bin Laden family's construction company, Saudi and Sudanese banks and Islamic charities under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Alien Tort Statute, the Torture Victim Protection Act and common law tort.

I'm personally familiar with the efforts required to obtain compensation from terrorists and their supporters.  The plaintiffs should not be discouraged by this turn of events.  It's just time to regroup.

Read the article from the New Jersey Law Journal here.
Alisa Flatow
Stephen M. Flatow