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Father of terror victim seeks court ruling to help his lawsuit
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the years since his daughter was killed in a Middle East terror bombing, Stephen Flatow has made it his mission to make sure that those responsible are punished. Last week, he saw federal authorities charge eight people with supporting the extremist group that claimed the 1995 bus bombing in the Gaza Strip. But Flatow's own fight goes on. He is asking the Supreme Court to help him punish Iran for supporting the group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Flatow, of West Orange, New Jersey, already holds a judgment against Iran for $247.5 million and has petitioned the high court to help him collect the money from a bank owned by Iran that operates in the United States. Lower courts have ruled against Flatow, saying he has not proved Iran has day-to-day control over the bank. Flatow says if the courts cling to that strict interpretation, "The message to Iran and other countries is, 'You can commit murder, and you don't have to pay for it."' The case could affect other Americans who sue governments for sponsoring terror. Flatow is among a handful of people who hold outstanding terrorism judgments against Iran. Nearly 200 others won similar judgments against Iraq for injuries sustained in the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. In addition, a lawsuit filed in September seeks more than $1 trillion in damages against Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, his al Qaeda network and Iraq on behalf of 1,400 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and their families. A 1996 law authorized Americans to sue nations designated by the United States as sponsors of international terrorism -- currently Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Sudan -- for damages suffered in acts of terror. For Flatow and others, collecting court-ordered damages is proving more of a challenge than obtaining judgments. Flatow's lawyer, Steven Perles, said a victory in his case would open avenues for other Americans who obtain judgments, then struggle to "separate terrorist states from their hard assets." Flatow and his wife Rosalyn filed the first lawsuit under the 1996 law. Their daughter, Alisa, a junior at Brandeis University, died in the 1995 bus bombing in Palestinian-controlled Gaza. Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which Israel and the United States maintain is backed by Iran, claimed responsibility. In charging eight men last week as the group's organizers, federal prosecutors blamed Islamic Jihad for more than 100 deaths, including Alisa Flatow's, in Israel and Palestinian adjacent territories. The Flatows won a default judgment against Iran because the country did not contest the lawsuit. The U.S. government, for diplomatic reasons, has opposed numerous efforts by the Flatows to enforce claims on Iranian properties in the United States. Congress passed a law in 2000 authorizing the government to use frozen assets of Iran and Cuba to pay compensatory damages to people holding judgments against them. Flatow collected $26 million in compensation but remains determined to find a way to collect more than $200 million in punitive damages. "That is the portion of the judgment intended to deter Iran's future conduct," Perles said. In 1999, Flatow and his legal team made a promising discovery: property in Carlsbad, Calif., owned by the California Land Holding Co., a subsidiary of Bank Saderat Iran. Originally a private company, the bank was nationalized by the Iranian government after the 1979 Islamic revolution. California Land Holding was about to sell the property. Flatow agreed to let the sale go through, with the proceeds -- nearly $700,000 -- placed in an interest-bearing account, pending the outcome of his claim. A federal judge turned down Flatow's attempt to collect the money because of the day-to-day control question. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Flatow's argument on Oct. 23, and he appealed the Supreme Court last month. There, Flatow faces long odds: The court receives roughly 5,000 requests each year and accepts about 80. Perles said an expert hired by Flatow estimates Iran could have $4 billion to $6 billion in investments in the United States through companies like Bank Saderat. The bank's lawyer, Steven Kerekes, said it is a separate corporate entity, "just a regular commercial bank, doing regular commercial things." Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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