Terrorist Attacks On Sept. 11, 2001 v. Al Rajhi Bank

295 F. Supp. 3d 416
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 28, 2018
Docket03–MDL–1570 (GBD)
StatusPublished

This text of 295 F. Supp. 3d 416 (Terrorist Attacks On Sept. 11, 2001 v. Al Rajhi Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Terrorist Attacks On Sept. 11, 2001 v. Al Rajhi Bank, 295 F. Supp. 3d 416 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

GEORGE B. DANIELS, United States District Judge:

Plaintiffs in this multidistrict litigation seek to hold multiple defendants liable for allegedly financing, sponsoring, conspiring to sponsor, aiding and abetting, or otherwise providing material support to Osama bin Laden and the terrorist organization known as al Qaeda, for the physical destruction, deaths, and injuries suffered as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (the "9/11 Attacks").1 Plaintiffs principally allege here that Defendants National Commercial Bank ("NCB"), Al Rajhi Bank ("ARB"), and the Saudi Binladin Group ("SBG") knowingly provided material support to Osama bin Laden and/or al Qaeda and its affiliates in the form of funds and financial services, thereby enabling al Qaeda to successfully carry out the 9/11 Attacks. (See generally First Am. Compl. ("FAC"), Underwriting Members of Lloyd's Syndicate 2, et al. v. Al Rajhi Bank, et al. ("Lloyd's" ) (No. 16-cv-07853), ECF No. 56.)2

*420Defendants NCB and ARB (the "Bank Defendants"), as well as Defendant SBG (collectively, the "Moving Defendants"), move to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (See NCB Mot. to Dismiss ("NCB Mot."), ECF No. 3691, at 1; SBG Mot. to Dismiss ("SBG Mot."), ECF No. 3700, at 1; ARB Mot. to Dismiss ("ARB Mot."), ECF No. 3702, at 1-2.) Defendants ARB and SBG move, in the alternative, to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.3 (See SBG Mot. at 1; ARB Mot. at 1-2.) All three Moving Defendants were previously dismissed from this multidistrict litigation, though not all for the same reasons.4 See In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 ("Terrorist Attacks VI" ), 840 F.Supp.2d 776, 780-82 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (dismissing claims against SBG for lack of personal jurisdiction), aff'd, 714 F.3d 659 (2d Cir. 2013) ; In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 ("Terrorist Attacks IV" ), 718 F.Supp.2d 456, 478, 487-88 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (dismissing claims against NCB for lack of personal jurisdiction), aff'd , 714 F.3d 659 (2d Cir. 2013) ; In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 ( "Terrorist Attacks I" ), 349 F.Supp.2d 765, 831-33 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (Casey, J.) (dismissing claims against ARB for failure to state a claim), aff'd , 714 F.3d 118 (2d Cir. 2013).

Plaintiffs claim that since this Court last dismissed the Moving Defendants, two things have happened that support the exercise of jurisdiction where none may have been appropriate before. First, in September 2016, Congress enacted the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act ("JASTA"), Pub. L. No. 114-222, 130 Stat. 852 (2016) (codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1605B ), which Plaintiffs claim was intended to allow victims of the 9/11 Attacks to hold accountable parties that provided assistance to al Qaeda "wherever acting and wherever they may be found." (Opp'n at 7 (quoting JASTA § 2(b), 130 Stat. at 853).) Second, as part of this multidistrict litigation, Plaintiffs' counsel took the deposition *421of Zacarias Moussaoui, a federal prisoner and former al Qaeda operative, and the self-described "20th hijacker," who is serving six life sentences for his role in the 9/11 Attacks. (See Moussaoui Dep. Tr., Aff. of Sean P. Carter dated February 3, 2015, Ex. 5, ECF No. 2927-5.) According to Plaintiffs, Moussaoui's testimony establishes new facts showing that the Moving Defendants aided Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda by providing funds and other forms of material support in furtherance of the 9/11 Attacks. (Opp'n at 16, 23-25, 28.) This Court heard oral argument on the Moving Defendants' motions to dismiss on January 18, 2018.

For substantially the same reasons this Court previously dismissed Defendants NCB and SBG from this multidistrict litigation for insufficient contacts with the United States, the Moving Defendants' motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(2) are GRANTED.5

I. JURISDICTIONAL FACTS

A. The Bank Defendants

Defendant NCB is a Saudi-based financial institution with its principal place of business located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (FAC ¶ 68.) Nonetheless, it maintains operations around the world and offers a broad range of financial services, including Sharia-compliant financial products and services, to institutional and individual clients alike. (Id. ) Plaintiffs allege that NCB provided funds and financial services to charities that operated as fundraising front organizations for al Qaeda, including the International Islamic Relief Organization ("IIRO") and the Saudi Joint Relief Committee for Kosovo and Chechnya ("SJRC"). Plaintiffs also allege that NCB was one of al Qaeda's preferred banks and that it frequently funneled contributions from wealthy Saudi businessmen to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. (Id. ¶¶ 201-02, 204, 214-15, 235-41.)

In addition, Plaintiffs allege that Khalid bin Mahfouz, NCB's president and chief executive officer, founded the Muwafaq Foundation ("Muwafaq") in 1991 and provided up to $30 million for its operations. (Id. ¶¶ 194, 206-07.) Plaintiffs allege further that during the 1990s, Muwafaq provided resources to al Qaeda to support its jihad against the United States by, for example, laundering contributions from wealthy sympathizers and funding terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Bosnia. (Id. ¶ 210.) According to Plaintiffs, NCB also provided financial services "and other support" to Muwafaq, which merged with al Qaeda in 2001.6 (Id. ¶¶ 210, 212.)

Defendant ARB is also a Saudi-based financial institution that offers Sharia-compliant banking and investment products. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
295 F. Supp. 3d 416, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terrorist-attacks-on-sept-11-2001-v-al-rajhi-bank-ilsd-2018.