Sunday, March 29, 2009
We wouldn't want there to be any inconvenience to ordinary Palestinians, after all. The question is, will they continue to make good on the payments? Bottom line, the PA will have to keep paying. Judge Favors Lower Bond in Case Against Palestinians
Citing an economic crisis in the Palestinian territories, a federal magistrate judge has recommended reducing a $192.7 million bond that the Palestinian Authority was ordered to post in order to defend a terrorism lawsuit in New York City.
But the magistrate judge said the Palestinians should still post a $120 million bond, payable on an installment plan -- $20 million down, and the rest in $5 million monthly increments.
The recommendation, which now goes to a federal district judge, is the latest twist in a case filed under a law that allows American victims of international terrorism to sue for triple damages in the United States courts.
The lawsuit was filed by the family of Aharon Ellis, the sole American killed when a Palestinian gunman burst into a bat mitzvah celebration in 2002 in northern Israel, killing 6 people and wounding more than 30.
The suit charged that the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization had orchestrated the attack, and when the Palestinians refused to defend the suit on the merits, a judge, Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ordered a default judgment, and the family was awarded $192.7 million in damages...
I interviewed the attorney for the Ellis family, David Strachman, back in March. The podcast is here.
