(CBS) A federal judge in New York denied a motion by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to dismiss a lawsuit brought by families of 9/11 victims who are seeking to hold the Middle Eastern country responsible for potentially providing support to the hijackers, allowing the suit to proceed.
The ruling is the latest in a long-running lawsuit seeking to hold the Saudi government liable for al Qaeda’s attacks, a case that has been described by lawyers for the plaintiffs as a “labyrinth.”
Saudi Arabia had the suit temporarily dismissed in 2015, before the dismissal was overturned by a federal appeals court. While the appeal was pending in 2016, Congress enacted a law known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allowed victims of terror attacks to sue foreign governments and individuals if they provided material support to the attackers. It also gave U.S. courts jurisdiction over potential lawsuits filed over injuries and deaths in attacks on U.S. soil.
