The Biden administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that 21 pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies must face a lawsuit accusing them of financing terrorism that resulted in the deaths or injuries of hundreds of American service members in Iraq.
In a filing presented by the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday, the administration argued that a previous Supreme Court decision involving Twitter undermines the plaintiffs’ claims under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act. The lawsuit, initiated in 2017 in Washington, D.C., federal court, includes companies like AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GE Healthcare USA, Johnson & Johnson, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche.
The plaintiffs, consisting of American service members and civilians harmed in Iraq between 2005 and 2011, allege that these companies made illicit payments to the Hezbollah-backed militia group Jaysh al-Mahdi to secure medical supply contracts. They claim that Jaysh al-Mahdi had control over Iraq’s health ministry.
The case seeks damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows Americans to file claims related to “an act of international terrorism.” The defendants have denied any wrongdoing and welcomed the Justice Department’s Supreme Court filing. They had previously petitioned the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit allowed the claims to proceed last year.
In a related case last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Twitter, now known as X, stating that aiding-and-abetting claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act require proof that the defendant “consciously and culpably” participated in a terrorist act. The service members involved in the current case argue that the alleged bribes to terrorists by the pharmaceutical companies were significantly more culpable than Twitter’s supposed inaction.
The case is AstraZeneca UK Limited et al v. Joshua Atchley et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 23-9.
For the petitioners: Lisa Blatt of Williams & Connolly For the respondents: Joshua Branson of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick
Further reading:
- Pfizer, AstraZeneca and others ask US Supreme Court to bar Iraq terrorism funding claims
- Pharma, device companies lose bid to undo terror-funding ruling
- U.S. court revives lawsuit against Pfizer, others on Iraq terrorism funding claims
