Text and Key Excerpts from Ungar

Full Text:

UNGAR v. PALESTINAN, ETAL:

Key Excerpts:

"The defendants' position rests on a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of this action. This is a tort suit brought under a legislative scheme that Congress enacted for the express purpose of providing a legal remedy for injuries or death occasioned by acts of international terrorism. The defendants are organizations that allegedly violated the statute. They have attempted to avoid liability by wrapping themselves in the cloak of sovereign immunity. The question we must answer, then, is whether the defendants have set forth sufficient evidence to support their claim of immunity -- no more and no less.

The defendants make a number of specific arguments, but these are largely derivative of their disagreement with the result reached by the district court. Their unhappiness is understandable, but legally irrelevant. The reality is that, in these tempestuous times, any decision of a United States court on matters relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will engender strong feelings. Be that as it may, the capacity to stir emotions is not enough to render an issue nonjusticiable. For jurisdictional purposes, courts must be careful to distinguish between political questions and cases having political overtones. See Klinghoffer, 937 F.2d at 49."