Practice Areas
Terrorism Financing
Osen LLC is presently litigating ground-breaking actions against Arab Bank plc, National Westminster Bank plc, and Crédit Lyonnais S.A. on behalf of persons whose claims arise out of deaths or injuries caused by terrorist attacks in Israel. These cases reflect our commitment to provide meaningful redress for victims of terrorism, and our efforts to use civil litigation as a means of shutting down the financial pipeline to various terrorist organizations and their charitable fronts. The lawsuits are predicated on the Anti-terrorism Act (the “ATA”), which provides a cause of action for American citizens (and their family members or heirs) killed or injured by acts of international terrorism.
The ATA was prompted by a federal civil suit against the Palestinian Liberation Organization for the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a U.S. citizen who was cast overboard during the highjacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985. The sponsors of the legislation wanted to expand federal jurisdiction to include victims of terrorist attacks that were perpetrated abroad. The objective of the ATA was to provide an economic disincentive to terrorism by providing a civil remedy for terror victims and their families who were killed or injured abroad. By launching these landmark lawsuits against public companies, Osen LLC has underscored the fact that institutions that allegedly support or facilitate the flow of funds which serve to enable acts of terror can be held accountable for their actions. These cases also serve to empower victims of terror and their families in combating terrorism.
The actions against Arab Bank, National Westminister Bank and Crédit Lyonnais have all survived motions to dismiss brought by the defendants. In addition, reflecting the global nature of the Firm’s practice and its commitment to combating terrorism and terrorism financing regardless of ideology or locality, the Firm (together with co-counsel) has launched a lawsuit on behalf of the families of five slain American missionaries against Chiquita Brands International, Inc. The complaint alleges that Chiquita knowingly paid funds and provided other services and support to a violent Colombian terrorist organization known as “FARC”. This case, like our cases against financial institutions, is brought under the ATA and charges that Chiquita’s alleged support for FARC contributed to the deaths of the five men because Chiquita had in fact supported “acts of terrorism.”