Terrorist victim groups say Libya deal leaves some out

Some terrorist victims’ groups are unhappy with legislation that would speed up relations with Libya, complaining that a deal to compensate families of those killed by Libyan-sponsored bombings would leave out non-U.S. citizens.

The issue is that the legislation, which passed the Senate and is pending in the House, would bar future lawsuits from being filed against Libya in the U.S. — preventing those victims who are not U.S. citizens from seeking damages for their losses.

{mosads}Relatives of those killed in the 1986 bombing of Berlin’s La Belle discotheque as well as the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 support the bill. But attorneys involved in a pending lawsuit against the Libyan government — regarding alleged material support it provided to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) — say many of their clients will not see a dime.

“The unvetted proposal that passed the U.S. Senate today and is now in the U.S. House of Representatives settles some of the U.S. residents’ claims, throws out the claims of non-U.S. residents (who have standing under the Alien Tort Statute), and then completely immunizes Libya against existing and future lawsuits, attachments and liens,” said Ron Motley of Motley Rice in a statement.

Motley’s firm, one of the largest trial lawyer firms in the country, is representing victims of IRA bombings during the 1970s and ’80s who have accused Libya in court of providing ammunition and weapons training to the terrorist group.

In his statement, Motley said the bill sets a harmful precedent wherein the State Department can immunize other state sponsors of terror, such as Cuba, North Korea and Syria, from future lawsuits.

Many of the plaintiffs in Motley’s suit are not American and could not find redress against Libya if the bill becomes law. The suit only includes five U.S. plaintiffs.

Once law, the bill would ensure American terrorist victims from the IRA lawsuit are paid back by Libya, according to a Senate Democratic aide. Victims without American citizenship would be not included in the compensation agreement.

A House leadership aide said the bill could be on the floor as early as Thursday night and be passed by a voice vote.

The law firm is seeking to rally support with the Cuban-American community and sent out a statement in Spanish to get its attention.

“With the possibility of them coming off the list in the near future, I cannot imagine the Cuban government would not use this as a blueprint to gain immunity,” said Jodi Flowers, a partner at Motley Rice.

Flowers also said the measure’s speedy legislative path gave no time for open debate about the contents of the bill.

The chairman of the Pan Am 103 plaintiffs’ committee doesn’t believe the legislative package would allow state sponsors of terrorism to gain immunity from future lawsuits.

“I disagree completely. It’s the right signal,” said Jim Kreindler, who represents the bombing victims. “It is a roadmap on how to normalize relations with the United States by compensating legitimate U.S. victims of that state-sponsored terrorism.”

Nearly $540 million is still owed by Libya to the Pan Am 103 victims from their court settlement. The attack over Lockerbie, Scotland, took 270 lives, including 89 Americans.

The La Belle victims expect about $114 million to be paid out by Libya to them. Two U.S. servicemen were killed in the attack, while several other Americans were injured.

The charge for the bill was led by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who has championed the terrorist victims’ cause by proposing several legislative measures that hindered relations between Libya and the United States over the past year.

Many credited legislation the New Jersey Democrat passed earlier this year in forcing Libya’s hand.

An amendment Lautenberg attached to the defense authorization bill in January this year allowed attorneys for terrorist victims to seize assets of current and former state sponsors of terror to pay their compensation. Consequently, several oil companies working with Libya were confronted with liens from those lawyers.

But now, under Lautenberg’s new bill, Libya would find relief from his previous measure. Once Libya pays out the money to the terrorist attack victims and such compensation is certified by the secretary of State, the North African country would be immune from such asset seizures.

As legislation moved quickly through Congress on Thursday, the State Department continued to make progress in its negotiations with Libya and appeared close to reaching a universal settlement to pay off the victims’ claims. The bill will also recognize that agreement once it is finalized.