Arab Bank Wins Ruling Tossing Verdict Over Terror Funding
Arab Bank Wins Ruling Tossing Verdict Over Terror Funding
(Bloomberg) -- Arab Bank Plc won a ruling that tossed out a jury verdict holding it responsible for financing a wave of violence that killed or wounded Americans in Israel in the early 2000s.
After the 2014 verdict, the parties agreed in a 2015 settlement that the bank would pay at least $100 million to a handful of the victims if the case was upheld on appeal -- and a smaller amount if there was a reversal. On Friday, a federal appeals court in New York overturned the verdict on legal grounds, saying the jury had been improperly instructed on legal issues.
The total payment to all 597 victims in the case wasn’t made public as part of the settlement. The bank said on Feb. 1, 2016 that it had reserved $1 billion to cover “expected obligations” under the accord.
Arab Bank, the biggest lender in Jordan, was found liable for doing business with more than 150 Hamas leaders and operatives after a six-week trial that shed light on the roles banks play in funding terror groups. It was the first trial against a bank on claims that it violated the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, which lets American victims of terror sue supporters of attacks.
The lender’s financial services were used by Hamas militants in carrying out devastating attacks against civilians during a Palestinian uprising, including suicide bombings in restaurants and public buses in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from 2001 to 2004, a jury in Brooklyn, New York, found.
“We would have liked a sweeping victory, but we’re still very satisfied with the results of the case," said Gary Osen, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. "The plaintiffs will receive meaningful and very substantial compensation for their injuries, and today’s decision doesn’t diminish the fact a jury found Arab Bank liable for knowingly supporting Hamas."
The appeals court found the jury was improperly told that finding that the bank had provided material support to Hamas was enough to prove it had committed an act of international terrorism.
“Arab Bank is pleased with the Court’s decision, and continues to believe that the district court’s errors at trial all but dictated an adverse outcome," the bank said in a statement. "The bank is pleased to put this case behind it and focus on its business.”
The case is Linde v. Arab Bank Plc, 04-cv-02799, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net, Christie Smythe in Brooklyn at csmythe1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Paul Cox
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