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In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 392 F.Supp.2d 539 (2005) 10 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 789 actionable under the FSIA. Varig Airlines, 467 U.S. at 814, 104 S.Ct. 2755. Similarly, the claims against Prince Naif stem from his discretionary functions. The Plaintiffs complain that Prince Naif, as Minister of Interior, ignored warnings in 1994 from French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua that Islamic charities were being used to fund terrorism. Additionally, Plaintiffs contend that he did not adequately supervise certain Saudi charities whose diverted funds allegedly landed in the coffers of al Qaeda and Hamas. Prince Naif’s role on the Council of Ministers and as Minister of Interior makes it “nearly self-evident” that his official acts are “squarely covered by the ‘discretionary function’ language of [the FSIA].” Burnett IT, 292 F.Supp.2d at 20. As the Minister of Interior, Prince Naif oversees matters relating to Saudi public security, civil defense, fire service, police, passports, special security, and investigative forces. The Council of Ministers, of which he is a member, oversees the implementation of internal, external, financial, economic, educational, defense policies, and general affairs of state for the Kingdom. Prince Naif’s official responsibilities included managing Saudi relations with Osama bin Laden, see Prince Naif Mem. in Supp. Mot. to Dismiss at 2 (stating Prince Naif urged the Kingdom to strip bin Laden of his Saudi citizenship in 1994), and thus became a target of al Qaeda himself (see, e.g., Bierstein Aff. in Opp’n to Prince Sultan’s Mot. to Dismiss (fatwa issued by Osama bin Laden expressing extreme bitterness toward Saudi Royal family).) Therefore, Prince Naif’s administration of his responsibilities was “clearly ... grounded in social, economic, and political policy.” Burnett If, 292 F.Supp.2d at 21 (citing Varig Airlines, 467 U.S. at 814, 104 S.Ct. 2755)). This Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Prince Salman and Prince Naif for their official acts. The FSIA does not immunize an official for his private tortious acts, however. See 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(5) (explaining torts exception is relevant to official’s official acts); Leutwyler, 184 F.Supp.2d at 286-87 (explaming officials are “deemed foreign states when they are sued for actions undertaken within the scope of their official capacities’). Accordingly, the Court will consider the appropriateness of exercising personal jurisdiction over Prince Salman and Prince Naif for their alleged personal acts below. II. Personal Jurisdiction 1121 To survive the motions to dismiss under Federal Rule WESTLAW of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2), Plaintiffs must make a prima facie showing that personal jurisdiction exists over each moving Defendant. PDK Labs, Inc. v. Friedlander, 103 F.3d 1105, 1108 (Qd Cir.1997). The Court reviews the complaints and affidavits in a light most favorable to Plaintiffs, id. but it does not accept conclusory allegations or draw “argumentative inferences.” Mende v. Milestone Tech., Inc., 269 F.Supp.2d 246, 251 (S.D.N.Y.2003) (citing Robinson v. Overseas Military Sales Corp., 21 F.3d 502, 507 (2d Cir.1994)). 31 Plaintiffs offer two bases for personal jurisdiction. First, New York’s long-arm statute, which the Court looks to in federal question cases in which no federal statute provides for national service of process or when the Court is sitting in diversity. PDK Labs, 103 F.3d at 1108; Bank Brussels Lambert v. Fiddler Gonzalez & Rodriguez, 305 F.3d 120, 124 (2d Cir.2002). *557 New York’s long-arm statute, C.P.L.R. 302(a)(2), provides for personal jurisdiction over a person who, personally or through an agent, “commits a tortious act within the state.” Because a co-conspirator can be considered an agent, see Chrysler Capital Corp. v. Century Power Corp., 778 F.Supp. 1260, 1266 (S.D.N.Y.1991), Plaintiffs argue that Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction here based on the acts of their co-conspirators, the al Qaeda terrorists. 4] 15] 16] As this Court has previously explained, to establish personal jurisdiction on a conspiracy theory, Plaintiffs must make a prima facie showing of conspiracy and allege facts warranting an inference that the defendant was a member of the conspiracy. Terrorist Attacks I, 349 F.Supp.2d at 805. “To plead a valid cause of action for conspiracy ... a plaintiff must allege the primary tort and four elements: ‘(a) a corrupt agreement between two or more persons, (b) an overt act in furtherance of the agreement, (c) the parties’ intentional participation in the furtherance of a plan or purpose, and (d) the resulting damage or injury.’ ” Chrysler Capital Corp., 778 F.Supp. at 1267 (quoting Kashi v. Gratsos, 790 F.2d 1050, 1055 (2d Cir.1986)). Further, “[t]o warrant the inference that a defendant was a member of the conspiracy, Plaintiffs must show that ‘(a) the defendant had an awareness of the effects in New York of its activity; (b) the activity of the co-conspirators in New York was to the benefit of the out-of-state conspirators; and (c) the co-conspirators acting in New York acted ‘at the direction or under the control’ of or ‘at the request of or on behalf of? the out-of-state defendant.” Terrorist Attacks I, 349 F.Supp.2d at 805 (quoting Chrysler Capital Corp., 778 F.Supp. at 1268-69). The Court must resolve the question of whether a conspiracy exists “based upon an independent examination of the factual allegations while mindful of its duty to draw all factual inferences in HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017920

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Filename HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017920.jpg
File Size 0.0 KB
OCR Confidence 85.0%
Has Readable Text Yes
Text Length 5,541 characters
Indexed 2026-02-04T16:33:30.273102