On March 13, 2013, Arab Bank filed a letter in support of its pending motion for summary judgment in the Linde case, citing the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Rothstein v. UBS. On February 14, 2013, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Southern District Court’s dismissal of the Rothstein case. In its opinion, the Second Circuit found that the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) requires proof of proximate cause (and is not a strict liability standard), which plaintiffs had not shown, and that the ATA does not provide for aiding and abetting claims.
In its March 13 letter, Arab Bank argues that the Second Circuit’s decision in the Rothstein case fully supports the Bank’s pending motion for summary judgment and is wholly consistent with the decisions of Judge Jack B. Weinstein in the Gill case, including his dismissal of ATA aiding and abetting claims and his granting of the Bank’s motion for summary judgment for failure to establish proximate causation, among other reasons.
For the reasons set forth in its letter and in the papers already submitted, Arab Bank argues its motion for summary judgment on all claims should be granted.
On April 24, 2013, the Eastern District Court issued a decision granting in part and denying in part Arab Bank’s motion for summary judgment. Citing the Rothstein decision, the Court’s ruling dismissed the aiding and abetting claims under the ATA.