In a decision dated March 30, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a $656 million judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, court records described by the Associated Press showed. The appeals court reversed an earlier outcome in the case that had eliminated a verdict against the Palestinian groups, and it did so after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling changed the legal landscape for such suits.
The appeals judges said that reinstating the original judgment for the plaintiffs was consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling, writing that the conclusion matched the “plain import” of that decision. The Supreme Court decision, issued last June, upheld a 2019 law enacted by Congress that cleared a route for victims’ lawsuits to proceed against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
A decade earlier, the 2nd Circuit had tossed out a verdict against the same defendants, reasoning that U.S. courts could not consider lawsuits tied to overseas attacks that were not aimed at the United States. In this later appeal, the panel relied on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 2019 statute to bring the case back within reach of the Anti-Terrorism Act framework.
The lawsuit was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law signed in 1992 that opened U.S. courts to victims of international terror attacks. In the case, the victims and their families asserted that Palestinian agents either were involved in the attacks or incited them, according to the account described in the Associated Press report.
After Sunday, emails seeking comment were sent to attorneys for the defendants, the Associated Press said. The plaintiffs’ side, meanwhile, described the ruling as a step toward closure without requiring a fresh trial, with attorney Kent Yalowitz stating the families were “very relieved that the court has reinstated the judgment without requiring a new trial.”
Another plaintiffs’ attorney, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said she was pleased with the appeals court’s action after 22 years of litigation, as described in the Associated Press report. The reinstatement keeps the $656 million judgment intact, at least at the appeals level, as the case continues to move through the U.S. legal system.