Stris files amicus brief before Supreme Court in Republic of Sudan v. Rick Harrison

Los Angeles – Today, Stris & Maher LLP filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), the nation’s leading military and veterans advocate. The case is Republic of Sudan v. Rick Harrison, et al.

The VFW brief supports sailors injured in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole. That attack was carried out by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers who, led by Osama Bin Laden, received funding and other critical support from the Republic of Sudan, a long-time state sponsor of terrorism. The horrific attack left 17 United States sailors dead and 42 injured. When the injured sailors sued Sudan, the country refused to show up. After an evidentiary hearing, a United States court entered a multimillion-dollar default judgment.

Now, Sudan is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to set that default judgement aside. Sudan is supported in the case not only by Libya and Saudi Arabia, but also by the Trump Administration, a fact which the VFW views as a “profound disappointment.” As the VFW brief explains: “It is shocking and deeply dismaying that our government would stand with the nation that facilitated the Cole bombing, and against the surviving American sailors and their families.”

“On behalf of the 1.7 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliary, I want to express my sincere appreciation for the outstanding work of Stris & Maher on this important case,” stated VFW National Commander B.J. Lawrence. “It is critical that the U.S.S. Cole victims and their families know that we support their case, particularly when, as here, our own government will not do the same.”

A copy of the VFW brief can be found here.