Sotomayor denied the request without explanation and did not refer the matter to the full Supreme Court.
By Shula Rosen
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined to block enforcement of a $655.5 million terrorism judgment against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, allowing victims represented by Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center to continue efforts to collect the award while the Palestinian organizations pursue another appeal.
Sotomayor denied the request without explanation and did not refer the matter to the full Supreme Court.
The order permits plaintiffs to continue seeking recovery of assets but does not constitute a ruling by the Supreme Court on the underlying appeal.
The Palestinian Authority and the PLO had asked the court to halt enforcement of the judgment, arguing that the award should not have been reinstated after it had previously been overturned.
They also contended that allowing collection efforts to proceed could worsen the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis and affect schools, hospitals, sanitation and security services in the West Bank.
The case, Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization, was brought under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act by American families whose relatives were killed or injured in six shootings and bombings in Jerusalem between 2002 and 2004. The legal action was organized with the involvement of Shurat HaDin.
A Manhattan jury awarded the plaintiffs $218.5 million in 2015. Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, that amount was tripled to $655.5 million.
The judgment was later set aside in 2016 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendants.
Congress subsequently passed the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act in 2019.
Following years of additional litigation, a federal appeals court recently reinstated the $655.5 million judgment, reviving the award in favor of the American victims.
With Sotomayor declining to pause enforcement, plaintiffs may continue pursuing collection of the judgment while the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization prepare a further appeal.
The Supreme Court’s action addressed only the request to suspend enforcement and did not resolve the merits of the case itself.
The original case was brought on behalf of victims of terrorism by Shurat HaDin, an Israeli non-governmental organization that files civil lawsuits worldwide against terrorist organizations, hostile regimes, and their financial enablers to bankrupt them and secure financial compensation for the victims.
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