Gunn v. Islamic Republic of Iran

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJuly 29, 2024
DocketCivil Action No. 2021-1187
StatusPublished

This text of Gunn v. Islamic Republic of Iran (Gunn 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.

Bluebook
Gunn v. Islamic Republic of Iran, (D.D.C. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MONA GUNN, et al., : : Plaintiffs, : Civil Action No.: 21-1187 (RC) : v. : Re Document No.: 22, 23, 31 : ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, : : Defendant. :

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT; GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’

MOTIONS TO SUBSTITUTE PARTIES

I. INTRODUCTION

This case arises out of the October 12, 2000, terrorist bombing of the U.S.S. Cole (“the

Cole”) in Yemen, which killed 17 U.S. Navy sailors and injured dozens of others. See Compl.

¶¶ 5.2–5.7, ECF No. 1. This Court granted motions for default judgments against Iranian and

Sudanese state defendants in prior cases arising out of the same incident. See Flanagan v.

Islamic Republic of Iran, 87 F. Supp. 3d 93 (D.D.C. 2015); Taitt v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 664

F. Supp. 3d 63, 81 (D.D.C. 2023). Plaintiffs in the present case are fifty-eight immediate family

members of United States Navy Sailors killed in the attack (“Surviving Family Plaintiffs”);

thirty-four United States Navy Sailors stationed aboard the Cole who suffered physical injuries

and emotional trauma because of the attack (“Navy Plaintiffs”); and twenty-two immediate

family members of the Navy Plaintiffs who also experienced emotional trauma because of the attack and its aftermath (“Immediate Family Plaintiffs”). 1 See Compl. ¶¶ 1.1–1.3; Ex. A to Pls.’

Mot. for Default J. (“Pls.’ Mot.”), ECF No. 31-1; Flanagan, 87 F. Supp. 3d at 98. Plaintiffs

bring claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”) and solatium under section

1605A of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602 et seq., and seek

punitive damages. Compl. ¶¶ 7.1–7.8. Defendant Islamic Republic of Iran has not entered an

appearance, so default was entered on March 10, 2022, see ECF No. 12, and Plaintiffs filed their

Motion for Default Judgment on December 15, 2023, ECF No. 31. For the reasons set forth

below, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motion.

1 Two Plaintiffs have passed away during the pendency of this action. See Suggestion of Death, ECF Nos. 20, 21. For reasons discussed below, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motions to substitute their estates as parties.

2 II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2

A. Al-Qaeda 3

“Al Qaeda is a worldwide terrorist network led by Osama Bin Laden,” who founded the

network in Afghanistan in approximately 1990 “to serve as a base for like-minded Sunni Islamic

extremists.” Rux v. Republic of Sudan, 495 F. Supp. 2d 541, 548 (E.D. Va. 2007). Al Qaeda has

“organized, executed, or inspired acts of terrorism around the world that killed or injured

thousands of innocent people, including the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States,”

and has supported or trained terrorists in countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya,

Tajikistan, Somalia, Kosovo, the Philippines, Algeria, Eritrea, and, as relevant here, Yemen. Id.

“Bin Ladin saw himself as called ‘to follow in the footsteps of the Messenger and to

communicate his message to all nations,’ and to serve as the rallying point and organizer of a

2 The Court adopts the factual background from Taitt v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 664 F. Supp. 3d 63, 82–85 (D.D.C. 2023). The Federal Rules of Evidence authorize a court to take judicial notice of “adjudicative facts” “not subject to reasonable dispute” that are “capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned,” FED. R. EVID. 201(b), including “court records in related proceedings,” Rimkus v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 750 F. Supp. 2d 163, 171 (D.D.C. 2010) (citations omitted). Because of the number of individuals affected by terrorist attacks, and the associated “flood of cases that they generate,” courts hearing FSIA claims “regularly” take judicial notice of factual findings from related cases. Goldstein v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 16-cv-2507, 2018 WL 6329452, at *2 (D.D.C. Dec. 4, 2018) (citing Rimkus, 750 F. Supp. 2d at 171); see also Murphy v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 740 F. Supp. 2d 51, 58–59 (D.D.C. 2010); Brewer v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 664 F. Supp. 2d 43, 47 (D.D.C. 2009); Estate of Heiser v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 466 F. Supp. 2d 229, 262–63 (D.D.C. 2006). In line with this approach, here, the Court takes judicial notice of facts found through extensive proceedings in Flanagan and another FSIA case arising out of the Cole bombing, Rux v. Republic of Sudan, 495 F. Supp. 2d 541 (E.D. Va. 2007). In addition to accepting evidence from documents and affidavits, the Court in Flanagan held an evidentiary hearing at which five qualified experts testified. See Flanagan, 87 F. Supp. 3d at 96–97. The Court also took judicial notice of the findings from Rux, see id. at 96, in which the court considered 183 exhibits, including transcripts of expert depositions, a transcript of federal criminal proceedings against Osama Bin Laden, and various government reports concerning terrorism and the Cole bombing in particular, see Rux, 495 F. Supp. 2d at 543. 3 The Court will use the spelling “Al-Qaeda” and “Osama Bin Laden,” though cited materials may use slightly different spellings.

3 new kind of war to destroy America and bring the world to Islam.” Flanagan, 87 F. Supp. 3d at

97–98 (citing Rux, 495 F. Supp. 2d at 48).

B. The Bombing

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on October 12, 2000, the Cole entered the Port of Aden,

Yemen, to refuel. See Flanagan, 87. F. Supp. 3d at 98 (citing Rux, 495 F. Supp. 2d at 544–45).

The Navy used the Port of Aden as “the primary refueling stop for American ships during their

3,000-mile journey to the Arabian Gulf from the Mediterranean Sea” since 1999. Id. As of

October 2000, the Cole, an Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, had a crew of twenty-six officers and

270 enlisted personnel. See id. It “was the twenty-fifth Navy ship to stop in Aden Harbor for

refueling over the previous nineteen months.” Id. On the morning of the bombing,

[a]t approximately 8:49 a.m., the Cole moored starboard side to Refueling Dolphin Seven, near the mouth of the harbor. The ship began refueling at approximately 10:31 a.m. At approximately 11:10 a.m., one of the sailors standing watch over the refueling noticed a small boat heading “fast and hard” toward the Cole from the direction of the city. The boat, painted white with fire red trim, was about thirty-five feet long and six to seven feet wide and had a shallow V-hull. It looked “brand new.” The boat was similar in size and shape to many other small vessels in the harbor, including the service craft that had been alongside the Cole. The boat was manned by two males, both of whom appeared to be in their early thirties. The two men slowed the boat as they approached the Cole, maneuvered it parallel to the ship and came down the port side headed aft. As they did so, the two men in the boat were smiling, and waved to the crew. Some crew members returned the greeting. Seconds later, the boat exploded.

The explosion occurred between approximately 11:15 and 11:18 a.m., just as some of the crew was sitting down for lunch. The blast ripped a thirty-two-by thirty-six-foot hole in the port side . . . . Smoke, dust, and fuel vapors filled the air. The main engine room, auxiliary machine room, and the dry provisions storeroom were flooded.

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