Special Master Kenneth Feinberg is the administrator of the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST Fund). From this fund, he has approved claims for 2,332 victims of state sponsored terrorism. The USVSST Fund was established by a 2015 spending bill and provides compensation to state sponsored terrorism victims and their families. Feinberg has extensive experience in this role and was the initial special master for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. The Miller Firm represents 566 of the approved claimants. The compensation from this fund will partially satisfy a $10 Billion verdict the Miller Firm obtained in a lawsuit against Sudan and Iran.
The USVSST Fund is allotted for U.S. persons who have received a United States district court judgment awarding them “compensatory damages arising from acts of international terrorism for which a foreign state sponsor of terrorism was found not immune” who personally were, or whose spouse or parents were, held hostage at the United States Embassy in Iran in 1981; who are a “member of the proposed class in case number 1:00-CV-03110 (EGS) of the United States District Court for [D.C.];” or who are personal representatives of deceased individuals in these categories (usvsst.com). Over $1 billion has been appropriated to the USVSST Fund for the fiscal year 2017.
The claimants The Miller Firm represents were all victims of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings by al-Qaida in Nairobi, Kenya. The Miller Firm filed applications on behalf of these victims in late 2016, and will continue its efforts to fully collect on the $10 Billion dollar verdict from Sudan and Iran. The Miller Firm continues to seek justice for victims of terrorism originating in Iran, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia and is now representing victims of the 9/11 attacks in lawsuits against Saudi Arabia.
In 2016, The Miler Firm filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C. on behalf of 9/11 victims through the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Bill (JASTA). This 2016 bill allows American citizens to sue foreign states for acts of terrorism on U.S. soil. JASTA asserts liability to those who knowingly aid, abet, assist, and/or conspire with foreign terrorist organizations. Formerly classified Congressional reports reveal long-standing coordination between Saudi officials and the team of 9/11 hijackers, which enabled the attacks. Since the passage of JASTA, the Saudi Arabian government has spent millions lobbying the U.S. government to amend JASTA in an effort to avoid these lawsuits and avoid liability. The Miller Firm is committed to holding Saudi Arabia accountable under JASTA and to achieving justice and compensation for the victims and families of 9/11.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who were injured and family members who experienced terrible loss during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011. To learn more, you can call 1-800-882-2525 and ask to speak to attorneys David Dickens, Timothy Litzenburg, Michael Miller or Nancy Miller. They can be reached as well at [email protected] or [email protected].
