The ruling said the victims of the Al Qaida attacks must prove
that the Saudis intentionally targeted American citizens. The court
determined that one defendant, the Saudi High Commission for Relief to
Bosnia and Herzegovina, was "an agency or instrumentality of the kingdom"
and also immune under U.S. law.
"The kingdom has not been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the
United States," the ruling, in rejecting exceptions to the immunity law,
said.
Justin Green, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said an appeal would be
examined. He did not elaborate.
The lawsuit claimed that Saudi princes funneled money through charities
to Al Qaida. The money was alleged to have been used to plan the 2001
attacks.
U.S. courts have sought to minimize awards to the families of the Al
Qaida attacks in 2001. In July 2008, a federal district court judge rejected
a $28.5 million settlement for four victims of the Al Qaida air strike on
the Defense Department. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein had approved
four settlements ranging from $5.5 million to $8 million to Pentagon
employees, but weeks later changed his mind.
"Although I approved the settlements, I did so without being aware of
the considerations that now impel me to disapprove them," Hellerstein wrote
on July 24. "The wounds of 9/11 will not easily be assuaged. But neither
should they be exacerbated by rich rewards of fees and benign indifference
to unreasonably large awards."
