Judge Awards $104 Million in 9-11 Case - says plaintiff showed Iraq/Osama bin Laden/al-Qaida ties

Associated Press ^ | May 7, 2003 | By LARRY NEUMEISTER

[MeekOneGOP]

Judge Awards $104 Million in 9-11 Case

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press Writer
May 07, 2003

A federal judge Wednesday awarded nearly $104 million in damages to the families of at least two victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, saying they had shown that Iraq provided material support to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.

Judge Harold Baer outlined the damages against bin Laden, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi government in a written decision in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Baer said he had concluded that lawyers for the two victims "have shown, albeit barely ... that Iraq provided material support to bin Laden and al-Qaida."

The case was being closely watched by lawyers for plaintiffs in other lawsuits filed after the Sept. 11 attacks against Iraq, al-Qaida and others because it was the first to reach the damages phase.

The judge heard evidence for two days in March to help him determine damages. In January, he issued a default order against the Taliban, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and the Republic of Iraq.

The default judgment was granted by Baer after public announcements of the lawsuits failed to attract a response from any of the defendants.

He said lawyers relied heavily on classic hearsay, including reports of a Sept. 11 hijacker meeting an Iraqi consul to Prague, Secretary of State Colin Powell's remarks to the United Nations about connections between Iraq and terrorism and defectors' descriptions of the use of an Iraq camp to train terrorists.

Baer said the opinions of the lawyers' experts was sufficient to show that Iraq collaborated in or support bin Laden's terrorist acts on Sept. 11.

The judge noted that the experts provided few actual facts that Iraq provided support to the terrorists.

But he said the experts "provide a sufficient basis for a reasonable jury to draw inferences which could lead to the conclusion that Iraq provided material support to al-Qaida and that it did so with knowledge and intent to further al-Qaida's criminal acts."

The ruling stemmed from cases brought on behalf of the estate of George Eric Smith, 38, a senior business analyst for SunGard Asset Management and Timothy Soulas, a senior managing director and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities.

Smith was single and without children. Soulas was married with five children and his wife was 3-months pregnant when he was killed.

The lawsuits relied in part on legal principles contained in a 1996 law that permitted lawsuits against countries identified by the State Department as sponsors of international terrorism.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Next up; the Saudis.

[Blzbba]

good luck collecting any money from these lawsuits.

[abner]

albeit barely

Wow, 104 mil for barely?

[joesnuffy]

Amen...at least they got the judgments...
Go after their oil companies...their banks...their lobby groups...their entertainment investments
etc

[ladtx]

...albeit barely ...

That's a rather silly qualifier. Either there is a link or not, barely is meaningless.

[abner]

Either there is a link or not, barely is meaningless.

That is what I was thinking....

[Mo1]

The judge noted that the experts provided few actual facts that Iraq provided support to the terrorists.

No real facts but yet he awards them 104 million??

Don't get me wrong, IMO I think there is a connection but this case has a good case of being thrown out on an appeal

[Blood of Tyrants]

They should have been first up.

[Mo1]

good case = good chance

[trebb]

Isn't this kind of like awarding a lawsuit against an address, where the perps moved and there are new residents?

"I'm awarding you $5 million, to be paid by 12 Elm Street..."

[Mr. Lucky]

This futile little episode lets us compare, in the War on Terror, the comparative value of the judiciary vs. the military.

[Tunehead54]

If they can link Iraq to 9-11 it ought to be a done deal to link the "Republic of Iraq" to the OKC Murrah Bldg. bombing.

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[alnick]

No real facts but yet he awards them 104 million??

Actually it says "few" facts, not "no" facts. Big difference. :-)

[Mo1]

Actually it says "few" facts, not "no" facts. Big difference. :-)

I understand your point and I should have been more clear. I was just thinking that if the likes of Ramsey Clark were to get ahold of this case, it could be thrown out of court in a heart beat. And there are lawyers out there that support these terrorist pigs

[hobbes1]

PING!

[xsmommy]

yer good. : )

[hobbes1]

I am the White Johnny Cochran......

Why your Honor, It's Outrageous...It's fallacious, and utterly contumacious......

[Paul Ross]

[the case proved that]....Iraq provided material support to bin Laden and al-Qaida."

Paging Senator Byrd-Brain! Paging Senator Byrd!

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[CommerceComet]

Blzbba wrote: good luck collecting any money from these lawsuits.

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I'll bet that the plaintiffs have already been presented with a bill from their attorneys for the 40% contingent fee.