State Sponsors of Terrorism (FSIA)

Leading Cases
Osen LLC - Stearns v. Iran Case

Karcher v. Iran Cases

Osen LLC represents more than 240 families of Americans who were victims of Iranian-supported terrorism in Iraq between 2004 and 2011 in lawsuits filed against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Osen LLC - Bank Markazi Case

Hake v. Bank Markazi Cases

Osen LLC represents more than one hundred families of Americans killed or injured in Iraq, against Iranian state instrumentalities that helped Iran finance its terrorist operations against our troops.
AQI Cases - Osen LLC

AQI Cases

Osen LLC represents hundreds of families of Americans who were victims of Iranian and Syrian supported terrorism in Iraq between 2003 and 2011 in lawsuits filed against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic.
Osen LLC - Gill v. Iran Case

Gill v. Iran Case

Osen LLC obtained a $30,000,000 judgment on behalf of Mati Gill, an American injured during an Iranian-sponsored terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas.
Schertzman v. Iran and IRGC Case - Osen LLC

Schertzman v. Iran and IRGC Case

Osen LLC obtained a $10,050,000 judgment on behalf of members of the Schertzman and Miller families, Americans injured during an Iranian-sponsored terrorist attack perpetrated by the U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Osen LLC - North Korea Case

North Korea Case

Osen LLC represents the families of the victims of a terrorist attack that was perpetrated in May 1972 at Lod Airport in Israel.

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

Enforcement of FSIA Judgments

Ordinarily, United States courts do not have jurisdiction over lawsuits against foreign states. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) is a federal statute that provides the sole basis for asserting jurisdiction over recognized foreign states and it does this by carving out narrow exceptions to the general rule protecting foreign governments from being sued in our courts. In 1996, as part of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), Congress passed an additional exception to the FSIA that granted American citizens the right to sue foreign states designated as “State Sponsors of Terrorism.” This Terrorism Exception to the FSIA can be found in 28 U.S.C. § 1605A.
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State Sponsors of Terrorism do not typically maintain significant assets in the United States. Therefore, the main option for judgment holders against Iran, Syria and Sudan is to attempt to enforce their FSIA judgments in countries where these governments do maintain significant assets. Unfortunately, these efforts are often unsuccessful. For example, in October 2015, the Italian Court of Cassation refused to enforce an FSIA judgment against Iran. The Italian court held that although acts of terrorism are not entitled to immunity, to be recognized, a foreign judgment must accord with Italian jurisdictional principles.
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