By Chris Dolmetsch and Christie Smythe Source: Bloomberg.com Appeals court said jury was given improper instructions Ruling will modify $10
By Chris Dolmetsch and Christie Smythe
Source: Bloomberg.com
- Appeals court said jury was given improper instructions
- Ruling will modify $100 million post-verdict settlement
Arab Bank Plc won a ruling that tossed out a jury verdict holding it responsible for financing a wave of violence that killed or wounded Americans in Israel in the early 2000s.
After the 2014 verdict, the parties agreed in a 2015 settlement that the bank would pay at least $100 million to the victims if the case was upheld on appeal — and smaller amounts if there was a reversal. On Friday, a federal appeals court in New York overturned the verdict on legal grounds, saying the jury had been improperly instructed on legal issues.
Arab Bank, the biggest lender in Jordan, was found liable for doing business with more than 150 Hamas leaders and operatives after a six-week trial that shed light on the roles banks play in funding terror groups. It was the first trial against a bank on claims that it violated the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, which lets American victims of terror sue supporters of attacks.
The lender’s financial services were used by Hamas militants in carrying out devastating attacks against civilians during a Palestinian uprising, including suicide bombings in restaurants and public buses in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from 2001 to 2004, a jury in Brooklyn, New York, found.
“We would have liked a sweeping victory, but we’re still very satisfied with the results of the case,” said Gary Osen, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “The plaintiffs will receive meaningful and very substantial compensation for their injuries, and today’s decision doesn’t diminish the fact a jury found Arab Bank liable for knowingly supporting Hamas.”
The appeals court found the jury was improperly told that finding that the bank had provided material support to Hamas was enough to prove it had committed an act of international terrorism.
“Arab Bank is pleased with the Court’s decision, and continues to believe that the district court’s errors at trial all but dictated an adverse outcome,” the bank said in a statement. “The bank is pleased to put this case behind it and focus on its business.”
