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Extracted Text (OCR)
IN RE TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
801
Cite as 349 F.Supp.2d_ 765 (S.D.N.Y. 2005)
stam or New York law. Similarly, Plain-
tiffs have not pleaded facts to suggest the
Princes knew they were making contribu-
tions to terrorist fronts and provided sub-
stantial assistance or encouragement to
the terrorists to satisfy Boum or New York
law. The Court has reviewed the com-
plaints in their entirety and finds no alle-
gations from which it can infer that the
Princes knew the charities to which they
donated were fronts for al Qaeda. The
Court is not ruling as a matter of law that
a defendant cannot be liable for contribu-
tions to organizations that are not them-
selves designated terrorists. But in such a
case, there must be some facts presented
to support the allegation that the defen-
dant knew the receiving organization to be
a solicitor, collector, supporter, front or
launderer for such an entity. There must
be some facts to support an inference that
the defendant knowingly provided assis-
tance or encouragement to the wrongdoer.
Here, there are no such factual bases pre-
sented, there are only conclusions. See
Robinson, 269 F.3d at 146 “[Wle note that
the conclusory nature of [plaintiffs] alleza-
tions alone would give us pause before we
would allow them to sustain jurisdiction.”)
(citing Zappia Middle Kast Const. Co. v.
Emirate of Abu Dhabi, 215 F.3d 247, 253
(2d Cir.2000) (finding, in context of FSIA
12(b)(1) motion, conclusory allegations in
plaintiffs affidavit insufficient to sustain
jurisdiction)). The law does not permit
Plaintiffs
to circumvent the jurisdictional hurdle of
the FSIA by inserting vague and conclu-
sory allegations of tortious conduct in
their complaints—and then ... rely on
the federal courts to conclude that some
conceivable non-discretionary tortious
act falls within the purview of these
generic allegations under the applicable
substantive law. This is at odds with
the goal of the FSIA to enable a foreign
government to obtain an early dismissal
when the substance of the claim against
it does not support jurisdiction.
Robinson, 269 F.3d at 146.
ii. Discretionary Function
Plaintiffs argue that there is no discre-
tion to conduct illegal activities and the
so-called discretionary function exception
to the tortious act exception should not
apply to Prince Sultan or Prince Turki.
See, eg, Liu v. Republic of China, 892
F.2d 1419, 1421, 1431 (th Cir.1989) (find-
ing no discretion to violate Chinese law
prohibiting murder where gunmen acting
on direction of China’s Director of De-
fense Intelligence Bureau killed plaintiffs
husband); Birnbaum v. United States,
588 F.2d 319, 329-80 (2d Cir.1978) (find-
ing in FTCA case that the CIA had no
authority and therefore no discretion to
open U.S. first class mail departing for
and arriving from the Soviet Union);
Glickman v. United States, 626 F.Supp.
171, 175 (S.D.N.Y.1985) (finding in FTCA
case that CIA agent’s secret administra-
tion of LSD to plaintiff was not discretion-
ary function); Letelier v. Republic of Chi-
le, 488 F.Supp. 665, 673 (D.D.C.1980)
(holding no discretion to order or aid as-
sassination of former Chilean ambassador
and foreign minister). Prince Sultan in-
sists that any recommendation of govern-
ment grants to Islamic charities was a
discretionary function. Prince Turki
makes a similar argument regarding his
actions as the head of DGI and urges the
Court to find that all of his alleged actions
should be subsumed by the discretionary
function exception.
[28] The Court finds the discretionary
function exception independently bars
Plaintiffs’ claims against Prince Sultan and
Prince Turki. Both Princes are accused of
donating money or recommending govern-
ment grants to charities that allegedly sup-
ported al Qaeda. As the head of DGI,
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| Filename | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017866.jpg |
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| OCR Confidence | 85.0% |
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| Indexed | 2026-02-04T16:33:16.369518 |