WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than two dozen veterans who were severely injured and families of servicemembers who were killed in the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday against the Islamic Republic of Iran for sponsoring the attack. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Karsman, McKenzie & Hart.
Relvas, et al. vs. Islamic Republic of Iran was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. An earlier lawsuit involving several hundred plaintiffs – largely current and former members of various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families– was filed against Iran in federal court in 2001. The judge in that case, Peterson, et al. vs. Islamic Republic of Iran, entered a default judgment against Iran totaling $2.65 billion.
"The plaintiffs in this current lawsuit are victims of the very same terrorist attack as those who filed claims earlier. It is only right that these servicemembers who were injured and the families of those who died in this tragic attack also be compensated for their injuries and losses," said plaintiffs' co-lead counsel Theodore J. Leopold and co-counsel Matthew Axelrod of Cohen Milstein.
The Peterson ruling largely rested on the plaintiffs' arguments and corroborating evidence showing that several terrorist groups that participated in the deadly attack – including the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – had the backing of the Iranian government, which did not enter a defense in the U.S. court. The 1983 suicide bombing in Lebanon, which killed 241 American servicemembers and severely injured numerous others, was the deadliest state-sponsored terrorist attack against American citizens prior to Sept. 11, 2001.
In 2008, more than $2 billion in Iranian assets located in accounts at Citibank NA in the name of Bank Markazi were frozen. Bank Markazi, the Central Bank of Iran, is wholly owned by the Iranian government. Plaintiffs in the Peterson case sued Bank Markazi and Citibank in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to gain access to the money. In March 2013, the Court granted summary judgment to the Peterson plaintiffs and ordered that the nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets be transferred into a victims' fund that would be overseen by Stanley Sporkin. Iran appealed that decision, but in July 2014, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the lower court judgment. Bank Markazi has indicated that it intends to seek review of that decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We are optimistic that the Second Circuit's ruling will stand and have faith in the judicial system that all victims of this horrific attack against U.S. military personnel – those who first filed the lawsuit against Iran, and those similarly situated claimants who have come forward since – will be able to rightfully share in the victims' fund," said plaintiffs' co-counsel Jeremy McKenzie of Karsman, McKenzie & Hart, of Savannah, Ga.
Paul Hart, also plaintiffs' co-counsel, further stated: "We represent a wonderful group of plaintiffs that come from a variety of backgrounds and geographic locations. What the plaintiffs share in common is a serious loss due to a terrorist act. Our primary duty is to make sure our clients are compensated for these losses."
For more information about Relvas et al. v. Islamic Republic of Iran et al., visit http://www.cohenmilstein.com/news.php?NewsID=725.
Founded in 1969, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is a national leader in plaintiff class action lawsuits and litigation. As one of the premier firms in the country handling major complex cases, Cohen Milstein, with 80 attorneys, has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Denver, Colo. For more information, visit http://www.cohenmilstein.com or call (202) 408-4600.
Karsman, McKenzie & Hart is a litigation boutique firm located in Savannah, Ga. For more information, visit http://www.kmtrial.com or call (912) 335-4977.