10/16/2017
Courthouse Steps: Jesner v. Arab Bank
A Teleforum Sponsored by the Litigation Practice Groups
Friday, October 20, 2017 | 12:00 noon ET
Prof. William R. Casto
Paul Whitfield Horn Professor
Texas Tech University School of Law
Prof. Samuel Estreicher
Dwight D. Opperman Professor of Law Director
Center for Labor and Employment Law Co-Director, Institute of Judicial Administration
New York University School of Law
Oral Arguments for Jesner v. Arab Bank were heard on Wednesday, October 11th 2017. The issue at the center of the case is whether the Alien Tort Statute exempts corporations from liability.
The petitioners are surviving victims or families affected by a series of terrorist attacks that occurred over a 10-year period along the Gaza Strip and West Bank of Israel. Arab Bank knowingly accepted donations, paid su***de bombers' families, and maintained accounts for the terrorists who committed these acts. Arab Bank holds a small division in the United States, which it uses for money transfers. Petitioners claim that since Arab Bank has connection to the United States they can sue the corporation for damages in U.S. federal court under the 1789 Alien Tort Act.
Prof. Samuel Estreicher and Prof. William Casto will join us to discuss the oral argument and the significance of the case.
