New York Times:
Citing an economic crisis in the Palestinian territories, a federal magistrate judge has recommended reducing a $192.7 million bond that the Palestinian Authority was ordered to post in order to defend a terrorism lawsuit in New York City.
But the magistrate judge said the Palestinians should still post a
$120 million bond, payable on an installment plan — $20 million down,
and the rest in $5 million monthly increments.
The recommendation, which now goes to a federal district judge, is
the latest twist in a case filed under a law that allows American
victims of international terrorism to sue for triple damages in the
United States courts.
The lawsuit was filed by the family of Aharon Ellis, the sole American killed when a Palestinian gunman burst into a bat mitzvah celebration in 2002 in northern Israel, killing 6 people and wounding more than 30.
The suit charged that the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization had orchestrated the attack, and when the Palestinians refused to defend the suit on the merits, a judge, Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ordered a default judgment, and the family was awarded $192.7 million in damages.
Later, the defendants, saying they had changed leadership, had new
lawyers and were committed to defending the suit in good faith, asked
for a second chance. They argued that the gunman acted alone, without
their direction or assistance. Judge Marrero agreed to set aside the
verdict on the condition that the defendants post a $192.7 million bond.
When the Palestinians, saying they were “teetering on the verge of
bankruptcy,” proposed a smaller bond of $15 million, a new legal battle
erupted.
A lawyer for the family, David J. Strachman, opposed reducing the
bond, arguing that the defendants owned valuable tracts of land and had
hidden bank accounts that were once controlled by the P.L.O. chairman Yasir Arafat, who died in 2004.
A magistrate judge, Theodore H. Katz, who was assigned the matter,
wrote on Thursday that the plaintiffs’ lawyers, with “some
justification,” viewed the defendants’ representations about their
assets “with great skepticism.”
But, he said, contrary to the plaintiffs’ contention, “there is no
evidence that the P.A. and P.L.O. have concealed millions of dollars,
or ‘have huge and vast reserves of assets’ that are readily available.”
Judge Katz added that “the economic situation in the Palestinian
territories is dire” and that ordering the defendants to post $192.7
million “could disrupt the provision of essential services to millions
of citizens.”
A bond of $120 million, he said, would still provide the plaintiffs
“with an identifiable and readily obtainable source of recovery that
they would otherwise be required to spend enormous time and expense
tracking down, with questionable likelihood of success.”
The family’s lawyer, Mr. Strachman, said he was still reviewing the
ruling, but said the court recognized that his clients “have an
overwhelming need for security from these belligerent and recalcitrant
defendants.” Defense lawyers were not available for comment. [
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posted by: jrtelegraph
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