Monday, July 21, 2008
A D.C. District Court judge has denied any further delays on the part of the Palestinian Authority and PLO regarding civil judgments rendered against it. This is in contrast to a March ruling by another judge who granted the PA another trial back in March (see: Setback in Legal Anti-Terrorism Efforts).
The case stems from a roadside bomb targeting a school bus traveling to Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip in November, 2000. Two adults were killed and nine children were physically wounded, including three in the same family (note the Guardian's take at the time: Settler children lose limbs in bomb attack).
Here is a PDF of judge Rosemary M. Collyer's ruling. Here are some highlights:
...The Court declines to give the Defendants yet another opportunity merely to change their intentionally-selected litigation strategy seven years after suit was filed because new counsel have been retained. The PA and PLO chose to litigate only whether the PA should be recognized as a sovereign entity among the nations of the world. The Court vacated an early default to allow them the opportunity to do so, as the sole defense they offered...After a ruling against them, the Court granted their motion for reconsideration and allowed the issues to be re-briefed...Again, the Court ruled against the Defendants...New counsel arrived on the scene in 2007 and again argued the jurisdictional issues. Again, the Court ruled against the Defendants and concluded that it had jurisdiction...Only after these rulings have Defendants now asserted an intention to defend on the merits.
Defendants urge the Court to vacate the second default because the PA is a foreign
entity and a failure to allow them to proceed will injure the foreign relations of the United States. To the contrary, the interests of the United States are determined by its State Department, not foreign entities, and the State Department has filed no Statement of Interest here. The fact that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice might have encouraged the Palestinian Authority "to respond to U.S. legal proceedings in good faith and a timely manner," in a letter dated January 12, 2007...Ex. B, speaks nothing to these Defendants’ much earlier deliberate choices, leading to the second default in November 2005.
...The Defendants actively participated in this litigation, represented by able counsel, for years...
...The Court recognizes that Judge Marrero of the Southern District of New York has come to a different conclusion on a similar, although even more advanced, record. See Knox v. Palestinian Liberation Org., 248 F.R.D. 420 (S.D.N.Y. 2008). This Court declines to follow suit...
No more delays in this one (or so it reads). We'll see what happens next.
