Overview
Cohen Milstein represents Boston Marathon participants and attendees in a catastrophic injury and wrongful death mass action against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) for their role in the April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and related acts of terrorism that followed in and around Boston, Massachusetts.
The bombing, which killed three and injured several hundred others, was the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. For three days, a manhunt for the bombers ensued, resulting in the murder of a police officer, kidnapping of a civilian, and shootout between the bombers and law enforcement. The plaintiffs are U.S. citizens who were wounded in the Boston Marathon attack and the subsequent manhunt, and the families and estates of those who were killed or wounded.
Plaintiffs seek relief against the defendants through a nonjury civil action under the State Sponsored Terrorism Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which abrogates foreign sovereign immunity in cases where money damages are sought against a foreign state in connection with an act of international terrorism that occurred in the United States.
Case Background
On April 15, 2013, at approximately 2:30 PM, brothers Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev placed two homemade bombs in a crowd of people near the finish line of the 117th annual Boston Marathon.
The bombs, made using pressure cookers and packed with nails and other shrapnel, were hidden in backpacks placed strategically near spectators who were lined up along the marathon route to cheer on the runners.
At 2:49 PM, the Tsarnaev brothers detonated both bombs, killing three people from the blasts: an eight-year-old boy, a twenty-nine-year-old restaurant manager, and a twenty-three-year-old Chinese graduate student at Boston University.
Medical personnel, emergency responders, and other spectators rushed to aid those who had been critically injured by the explosions. Hundreds of people were injured by the blasts, and many were transported to twenty-six hospitals across the city.
Investigators found hundreds of pieces of shrapnel—nails, tacks, and BBs—on the street, inside buildings, and on top of buildings. The same metal shrapnel was found in the bodies, hair, and clothing of victims who were treated by ER doctors. The sound of the blasts also caused permanent hearing damage and loss to nearby spectators and runners.
That day, twelve patients underwent either above or below knee lower extremity amputations and two patients underwent bilateral amputations. At least forty-seven of the patients who received immediate surgery required subsequent operations for orthopedic stabilization and removal of damaged tissue. Many more victims continue to receive physical and psychological treatment for the injuries caused by the bombings.
The Tsarnaev brothers escaped the scene. Their next planned target – Times Square in New York City.
However, in their attempt to flee the greater Boston area undetected, on April 18, 2013, they shot and killed police officer at point-blank range while, who was sitting in his cruiser on the MIT campus. Later that same evening they carjacked a leased Mercedes SUV, kidnapped the driver, and robbed him of $800, and then forced him at gunpoint to drive to a gas station in Cambridge. While Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was in the gas station buying snacks, the driver jumped out of the car, escaped, and called 911.
As the Cambridge Police Department attempted to respond to the 911 call and subdue the brothers, the brothers fired at police officers and detonated a pressure cooker bomb and several pipe bombs. One officer suffered a severe head injury. Later that same evening during the chase, a stray bullet hit a MBTA officer who lost a significant amount of blood but survived after he was quickly transported to a hospital.
Eventually Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was taken into custody, while his brother Tamerlan died by the vehicle Dzhokhar was fleeing in, as police attempted to detain and arrest him.
Following Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s capture, FBI agents recovered Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s laptop and a thumb drive that contained several issues of Inspire magazine from 2010 to 2013 and included articles on bombmaking. Agents also found files of audio sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Muslim preacher who was a key figure behind Inspire magazine. Anwar al-Awlaki was the foremost English-speaking recruiter of Al-Qaeda, who espoused violence against the United States as a form of religious duty. Inspire magazine was published by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) through its propaganda arm, Al-Malahem Media.