Libya Pays $2.7 Billion to Families of Pan Am Flight 103
Kreindler Attorneys Named Trial Lawyers of the Year
Kreindler aviation accident attorneys James Kreindler and Steven Pounian were named 2009 Trial Lawyers of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice for their work in the Pan Am 103 terrorist litigation.
After a 3-month-long trial, Kreindler and Pounian were able to prove that Pan Am acted with willful misconduct in allowing a bomb to be placed on Flight 103 and obtained a recovery of over $500 million dollars from the airline. They recently were able to exact further justice by also forcing Libya to pay $10 million to each family, for a total of $2.7 billion. The litigation that spanned twenty years was initially led by Lee S. Kreindler.
What Happened
For 18 years, Kreindler & Kreindler has sought justice for the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The firm’s involvement began with the case against the airline under the Warsaw Convention, which resulted in a historic jury verdict of willful misconduct entitling the families to full and fair compensation. Then in 1996, Congress amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow suits against nations which were considered “state sponsors of terrorism,” including Libya. That same year, Kreindler & Kreindler filed suit against Libya on behalf of 117 families of the victims of Flight 103.
The third and final settlement payment that Kreindler worked to obtain from the government of Libya was $536 million. In May 2006, President Bush ended a key obstacle to the final payment by announcing the removal of Libya from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. The case was handled by Kreindler partner James Kreindler and Kreindler Of Counsel Steve Pounian and Marc Moller.
Kreindler attorney Steve Pounian authored an article for the New York Law Journal that discusses some of the events during the long run of this case. Jim Kreindler also spoke about this case at the 2008 American Bar Association, Aviation and Space Law Litigation National Program in Washington, DC. In his presentation, The Pan Am 103 Story – a 20 Year Saga, Jim discussed the legal efforts on behalf of the families of those killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, efforts which spanned more than two decades. He recounted both the litigation and diplomatic efforts made by the core members of the Plaintiffs’ Committee which resulted in unprecedented settlements for the families.
We wrote the book
Kreindler has literally written the book on aviation accident law. Our partners have authored numerous highly acclaimed books, articles and treatises, including the leading treatise in the aviation litigation field, Aviation Accident Law.
About Kreindler & Kreindler LLP
Kreindler & Kreindler is one of the largest and most distinguished aviation accident law firms in the world. Since 1950, our attorneys have served as lead counsel in nearly every major commercial aviation disaster litigation. With a record of success resolving aviation crash cases, Kreindler is prepared to advise and represent clients on a national basis. Contact us for a free consultation about your legal options.
Pan Am Boeing 747 image source: clipperarctic via Flickr.