The appeal was filed by the Philadelphia law firm of Cozen O'Connor, which is representing dozens of U.S. insurers that paid $5 billion in property damage and other claims stemming from the attacks on the World Trade Center. It seeks to overturn a finding by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan in August that U.S law bars lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for allegedly financing terrorism.
The ruling said, in part, that Saudi Arabia could not be sued because it had not been designated a terrorism supporter by the U.S. State Department.
"Saudi officials knew of al-Qaeda's use of terrorism, including its intent and practice of targeting U.S. citizens and interests, well before Sept. 11, 2001," the law firm said in papers filed yesterday. Lawyers for the kingdom, as well as leading Saudi officials, have denied the lawsuit's allegations.
Cozen, which is taking the lead in the case, was joined in the appeal by firms representing thousands of victims of the attacks and their relatives, lawyers for other insurance companies, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Cozen sued Saudi Arabia, senior members of the Saudi royal family, and several Islamist charities in 2003, nearly two years to the day after the attacks, alleging that charities controlled by the Saudi government had been the primary source of funding for bin Laden, and that U.S. and European officials had repeatedly warned the Saudis that the charities were bankrolling al-Qaeda and other terror groups.
The lawsuit cites hundreds of U.S. government intelligence findings, along with information unearthed by the law firm itself.
