In re Arab Bank, PLC Alien Tort Statute Litigation

808 F.3d 144 (2015)

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In re Arab Bank, PLC Alien Tort Statute Litigation

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
808 F.3d 144 (2015)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Arab Bank, PLC (AB) (defendant) was a company headquartered in Jordan with branches worldwide. From 2004 to 2010, aliens or family members or estate representatives of aliens injured, captured, or killed overseas (the aliens) (plaintiffs) filed actions in federal court, alleging that AB financed and facilitated Palestinian terrorist organizations’ attacks against Israeli citizens. The aliens claimed that the organizations promised to pay, and paid, relatives of those killed or injured while committing the attacks and that AB helped raise funds to finance the attacks and pay the families. The aliens asserted federal common-law claims and claims under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which gave federal courts jurisdiction over civil actions brought by aliens for torts committed in violation of international law. Relying on the Second Circuit’s holding in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. (Kiobel I) that the ATS did not permit claims against corporations, the district court dismissed the ATS and federal common-law claims and denied the victims leave to amend their complaints. The aliens appealed, arguing that Kiobel I was no longer good law, but if it was still valid, their federal common-law claims should be reinstated or leave granted to amend their pleadings to add non-federal common-law claims.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Sack, J.)

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