Judgments(Antiterrorism Act)

• Author: International Law Group

The following case concerns the fourth attempt by the family of Charles Hegna to enforce their judgment against the Government of Iran. Members of Hezbollah had killed Hegna, an American diplomat, during a 1984 airplane hijacking. See 2004 International Law Update 108

The plaintiffs brought an action in April 2000 pursuant to a provision of the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act which amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976 to revoke the sovereign immunity of nations that sponsor terrorism. See 28 U.S.C. Section 1605(a)(7). Eventually, the plaintiffs won a $375 million judgment against Iran and the Iranian Ministry of Information and Security.

The plaintiffs then sought to attach, among other Iran-related properties, the former New York residence of the Consul General of Iran. They also filed a claim under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA), as amended by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which permits the U.S. to disburse funds belonging to Iran or Cuba to judgment-creditors. See VTVPA, Pub.L. No. 106-386, Section 2002; 114 Stat. 1464, 1541-43 (2000); TRIA, Pub.L. No. 107-297, Section 201; 116 Stat. 2322, 2337-40 (2002).

The district court, however, decided that plaintiffs had given up their right to levy on Iranian assets as a condition of accepting a payment from the U.S. government under the VTVPA and the TRIA. It also held that the Iranian property is "at issue" before the Iran- United States Claims Tribunal that the nations set up after the Iranian hostage crisis. The plaintiffs appealed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirms with some modifications. "Two aspects of [the VTVPA and the TRIA] are noteworthy for purposes of this appeal...