Owens v. Republic of Sudan

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedOctober 15, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 2001-2244
StatusPublished

This text of Owens v. Republic of Sudan (Owens v. Republic of Sudan) 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
Owens v. Republic of Sudan, (D.D.C. 2014).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

JAMES OWENS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. 01-2244 (JDB) REPUBLIC OF SUDAN, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Over sixteen years ago, simultaneous suicide bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es

Salaam, Tanzania, devastated two United States embassies, killed hundreds of people, and

injured over a thousand more. This Court has entered final judgment on liability under the

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”) and District of Columbia law in this and other civil

actions—brought by victims of the bombings and their families—against the Republic of Sudan,

the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Sudan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the

Iranian Ministry of Information and Security for their roles in these unconscionable acts. And

with the help of special masters, the Court has assessed and awarded damages to most of the

individual plaintiffs in these cases. See, e.g., Mar. 28, 2014 Mem. Op. [ECF No. 300] at 3. But

a few plaintiffs remain. Currently before the Court are a special master’s award

recommendations for these remaining plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs—the so-called “Aliganga plaintiffs,” who take their name from Jesse Nathanael

Aliganga, a United States Marine Corps sergeant who died in the 1998 attack—are twelve

United States citizens injured or killed in the Nairobi bombing and their immediate family

members. See Am. Compl. in Intervention [ECF No. 262] (“Am. Compl.”) at 9; Apr. 11, 2014

1 Mem. Op. at 1. Although these plaintiffs did not participate in the opening stages of the original

Owens lawsuit, this Court allowed them to intervene in this case. July 23, 2012 Order [ECF No.

233] at 1. By that time, other plaintiffs had already served process on each defendant,

defendants had failed to respond, and the Court had entered a default against defendants.

Moreover, this Court had already held that it has jurisdiction over defendants and that the United

States national plaintiffs have a federal cause of action under 28 U.S.C. § 1605A(c), while the

foreign-national family members of the bombing victims may pursue their claims under the laws

of the District of Columbia. 1 See Owens v. Rep. of Sudan, 826 F. Supp. 2d 128, 148–51, 153–57

(D.D.C. 2011). Finally (and perhaps most importantly), this Court had already found that

defendants were responsible for supporting, funding, or otherwise carrying out the Nairobi

bombing, and it therefore entered final judgment on liability against them pursuant to the FSIA.

See id. at 135–47, 157.

The Court then referred the Aliganga plaintiffs’ claims to a special master, Paul G.

Griffin, to prepare proposed findings of fact and damages recommendations for each plaintiff.

Sept. 18, 2012 Order [ECF No. 253] at 1. The special master has now filed his reports, which

rely on sworn testimony, expert reports, medical records, and other evidence. See Reports of

Special Master [ECF Nos. 332–39, 341–42]; see also Filing of Special Master [ECF No. 344]

(“Wolf Expert Report”). The reports describe the facts relevant to each plaintiff and carefully

analyze each plaintiff’s claim for damages under the framework established in other mass-tort-

terrorism cases from this District. The Court thanks Special Master Griffin for his work.

The Court hereby adopts all facts found by the special master relating to plaintiffs in this

case. Where the special master has received evidence sufficient to find that a plaintiff is a United

1 Amongst the Aliganga plaintiffs, only one—Egambi Fred Kibuhiru Dalizu—is not a United States national. See Am. Compl. at 44; see also infra at 5.

2 States national and is thus entitled to maintain a federal cause of action, the Court adopts that

finding. In addition, the Court adopts the special master’s finding that each plaintiff has

established the familial relationship necessary to support standing under the FSIA. See 28

U.S.C. § 1605A(a)(2)(A)(ii); see also Owens, 826 F. Supp. 2d at 149. The Court also adopts all

damages recommendations in the reports—with the exception of the few adjustments described

below. See Valore v. Islamic Rep. of Iran, 700 F. Supp. 2d 52, 82–83 (D.D.C. 2010) (“Where

recommendations deviate from the Court’s damages framework, those amounts shall be altered

so as to conform with . . . the framework.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). As a result, the

Court will award the Aliganga plaintiffs a total judgment of over $622 million.

This opinion and judgment brings to a close this Court’s role in assessing the

responsibility for, and the damages recoverable as a result of, the 1998 embassy bombings. But

the story is hardly over for the victims of these attacks, who not only must continue the effort to

actually recover their awarded damages, but, more importantly, must also continue to live with

the devastating consequences of these callous acts. That, after all, is the design of such terrorist

activity—to inflict present and future fear and pain on individuals and governments. The Court

commends the dedicated, creative, and courageous resolve of all plaintiffs—and their

conscientious attorneys—in the cases brought against the terrorists responsible for the embassy

bombings and their supporters. They have helped to ensure that terrorism, and its support by

defendants, will not ultimately succeed in achieving its long-term goals.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Defendants’ liability in this case under both the FSIA and District of Columbia law was

decided long ago. 2 See Owens, 826 F. Supp. 2d at 157. But two questions remain. First, what

2 It bears repeating from previous opinions in this case that “for plaintiffs’ federal claims under § 1605A(c), the Court [was] presented with the difficulty of evaluating the[] claims under the FSIA . . . which does not spell out

3 kinds of damages may plaintiffs recover from the (now liable) defendants? And second, what

damages awards are appropriate for each plaintiff?

I. PLAINTIFFS MAY RECOVER DAMAGES UNDER EITHER 28 U.S.C. § 1605A OR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LAW

Both the FSIA and District of Columbia law provide a basis for damages awards here.

Start with the FSIA. That statute allows United States national plaintiffs to recover various types

of damages, including “economic damages, solatium, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.”

28 U.S.C. § 1605A(c). But “[t]o obtain damages in an FSIA action, the plaintiff must prove that

the consequences of the defendants’ conduct were reasonably certain (i.e., more likely than not)

to occur, and must prove the amount of the damages by a reasonable estimate consistent with this

Circuit’s application of the American rule on damages.” Valore, 700 F. Supp. 2d at 83 (internal

quotation marks and alterations omitted).

The Aliganga plaintiffs satisfy these requirements. As discussed in this Court’s previous

opinions, plaintiffs have proven that the consequences of defendants’ conduct were reasonably

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