All Represented by John Driscoll v. Islamic Republic of Iran

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJune 30, 2024
DocketCivil Action No. 2020-0622
StatusPublished

This text of All Represented by John Driscoll v. Islamic Republic of Iran (All Represented by John Driscoll v. Islamic Republic of Iran) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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All Represented by John Driscoll v. Islamic Republic of Iran, (D.D.C. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ALL PLAINTIFFS REPRESENTED BY JOHN DRISCOLL,

Plaintiffs, v. No. 20-cv-622-ZMF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

From 2006 to 2011, sixty-three terrorist attacks on United States military servicemembers

in Iraq killed forty-six and severely injured twenty-three servicemembers. The attack victims, their

estates, and their family members (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) seek compensation for their injuries

from Defendant, the Islamic Republic of Iran, under the terrorism exception to the Foreign

Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”). See 28 U.S.C. § 1605A. The Court previously granted default

judgment with respect to Iran’s liability. See Order 2, ECF No. 42. Plaintiffs now seek damages,

requesting over $5 billion. The Court must deny a subset of these requests, where counsel for

Plaintiffs failed to follow precedent or simply provide the requisite evidence; however, the Court

agrees that certain Plaintiffs have made the necessary showing and awards them compensatory

damages totaling $1,019,872,428.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 2, 2016, Plaintiffs filed their original complaint against Iran together with a

larger group of litigants. See Compl., Neiberger v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 16-cv-2193

(D.D.C. Nov. 2, 2016), ECF No. 1. On February 27, 2020, Judge Sullivan severed the claims of

1 plaintiffs represented by The Driscoll Firm, P.C. from the claims of plaintiffs represented by

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, see Order 1, Neiberger, No. 16-cv-2193 (D.D.C. Feb. 27, 2020),

ECF No. 52, and directed the Clerk of Court to open a new case, see Min. Order, Neiberger, No.

16-cv-2193 (D.D.C. Mar. 2, 2020).

On March 2, 2020, the newly-severed Driscoll Plaintiffs filed their amended complaint in

the above-captioned matter seeking judgment against Iran pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1605A(c) and

relief in the form of compensatory damages, including for economic losses, pain and suffering,

solatium damages, and punitive damages. See Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 870–85, ECF No. 2.

Plaintiffs sought default judgment after Iran failed to appear. See Mot. Default J., ECF No. 19.

On October 5, 2021, Judge Sullivan referred the matter to the undersigned for full case

management pursuant to Local Civil Rule 72.3. See Min. Order (Oct. 5, 2021). On June 27, 2023,

the undersigned recommended granting default judgment as to liability. See All Plaintiffs

Represented by John Driscoll v. Islamic Republic of Iran (“Driscoll I”), No. 20-cv-622, 2023 WL

4892710, at *14 (D.D.C. June 27, 2023). On July 13, 2023, Judge Sullivan adopted the report and

recommendation and granted default judgment. See All Plaintiffs Represented by John Driscoll v.

Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 20-cv-622, 2023 WL 5932974, at *1 (D.D.C. July 13, 2023).

Plaintiffs then moved for $5,356,489,472 in damages, comprised of compensatory

damages of $1,339,122,368 and punitive damages of three times that amount. See Pls.’ Mot.

Default J. Damages (“Mot.”), Ex. G (“Damages Table”) 14, ECF No. 45-8. Iran has still not

appeared in the action.

On June 21, 2024, Plaintiffs consented to appear before the undersigned for all purposes

pursuant to Local Civil Rule 73.1. See Min. Order (June 21, 2024).

2 II. LEGAL STANDARD

The terrorism exception of the FSIA authorizes recovery for “economic damages, solatium,

pain and suffering, and punitive damages.” 28 U.S.C. § 1605A(c). “To obtain damages against

[Defendant] under the FSIA, the plaintiffs must prove that the consequences of [Defendant’s]

conduct were ‘reasonably certain’ (i.e., more likely than not) to occur, and must prove the amount

of damages by a ‘reasonable estimate’ consistent with this [Circuit’s] application of the American

rule on damages.” Est. of Heiser v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 406 F. Supp. 2d 229, 268 (D.D.C.

2006) (quoting Salazar v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 370 F. Supp. 2d 105, 115–16 (D.D.C. 2005)).

“While these requirements create ‘some protection against an unfounded default judgment,’

plaintiffs need not produce ‘more or different evidence than [a court] would ordinarily receive;

indeed, the quantum and quality of evidence that might satisfy a court can be less than that

normally required.’” Pennington v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 19-cv-796, 2022 WL 168261, at

*1 (D.D.C. Jan. 19, 2022) (quoting Fraenkel v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 892 F.3d 348, 353 (D.C.

Cir. 2018)).

Different types of recovery are available to different types of Plaintiffs. “First, damages for

pain and suffering are limited to injured U.S. servicemembers and, if death was not instantaneous,

to the estates of deceased U.S. servicemembers.” Neiberger v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 16-

cv-2193, 2022 WL 17370239, at *12 (D.D.C. Sept. 8, 2022) (citing Gates v. Syrian Arab Republic,

580 F. Supp. 2d 53, 73–74 (D.D.C. 2008)). “Second, economic damages are limited to U.S.

servicemembers and their estates for their economic losses.” Id. (citing Valore v. Islamic Republic

of Iran, 700 F. Supp. 2d 52, 83 (D.D.C. 2010)). Finally, courts may award solatium damages to

the immediate family members of victims. Id. (citing Valore, 700 F. Supp. 2d at 85).

3 III. DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs seek damages on behalf of 23 injured servicemembers, 46 estates of deceased

servicemembers, and 263 family members of injured or deceased servicemembers.1 See Damages

Table.

A. Injured Servicemembers

Each of the 23 surviving servicemembers seeks to recover economic losses as well as pain

and suffering damages. See id.

Economic Damages

Recoverable economic damages under the FSIA include “past and future lost wages,

benefits and retirement pay, and other out-of-pocket expenses.” Neiberger, 2022 WL 17370239,

at *14 (citing Owens v. Republic of Sudan, 71 F. Supp. 3d 252, 258 (D.D.C. 2014)). Plaintiffs may

prove such damages by a forensic economist’s expert report. See Roth v. Islamic Republic of Iran,

78 F. Supp. 3d 379, 402 (D.D.C. 2015); Fritz v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 324 F. Supp. 3d 54, 59–

60 (D.D.C. 2018). When evaluating an expert’s report, the Court considers the “reasonableness

and foundation of the assumptions relied upon by the expert.” Roth, 78 F. Supp. 3d at 402 (citing

Reed v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 845 F. Supp. 2d 204, 214 (D.D.C. 2012)).

Plaintiffs have provided reports by forensic economist Donald Frankenfeld calculating

each injured servicemember’s economic damages. See Mot. at 5; Ex. F, Expert Report of Donald

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Related

Gates v. Syrian Arab Republic
580 F. Supp. 2d 53 (District of Columbia, 2008)
Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran
515 F. Supp. 2d 25 (District of Columbia, 2007)
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999 F. Supp. 1 (District of Columbia, 1999)
Estate of Heiser v. Islamic Republic of Iran
466 F. Supp. 2d 229 (District of Columbia, 2006)
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700 F. Supp. 2d 52 (District of Columbia, 2010)
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