American victims of a 1997 terrorist bombing can’t claim ancient Persian artifacts held at the University of Chicago to satisfy a multimillion-dollar judgment against Iran for its role in the attack, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled.
A three-judge panel found on July 19 that there is no “freestanding” exception in state-sponsored terrorism cases to the immunity that shields foreign governments under U.S. law. The Seventh Circuit’s decision conflicts with the Ninth Circuit, which held earlier this year that there was such an exception.
