Although the lawsuit argues that the Saudi government "intended" the 9/11 attacks to happen

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080531_Pinning_the_blame_for_terror.html

Pinning the blame for 9/11


Less than a mile from the mournful place in Lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center came crashing to the ground, in a hushed federal courthouse, a small band of Philadelphia lawyers is prying loose secrets of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

It is here that the Cozen O'Connor law firm has filed an 812-page lawsuit on behalf of U.S. and global insurance companies alleging that Saudi Arabia and Saudi-backed Islamist charities nurtured and financed al-Qaeda, the author of those deadly attacks.


Led by its flinty chairman and founder, Stephen Cozen, the firm has invested thousands of hours and millions of dollars to scour the world for witnesses, documents and other evidence in its attempt to hold the oil-rich desert kingdom liable for more than $5 billion in damages.

Among the companies represented in the lawsuit are Chubb, Ace, Allstate, One Beacon, and nearly three dozen other insurers.

[seemslikeadream]

1. “The law has always recognized the liability of those who participate in a conspiracy.”

SPENCER PLATT / Getty Images
The towers burn. Although the attack was calamitous, the suit “is mundane in that we are not breaking new ground,” Stephen Cozen says, adding: “The law has always recognized the liability of those who participate in a conspiracy.”

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080531_Pinning_the_blame_for_terror.html#


http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20080531_A_former_al-Qaeda_fighter_accuses_a_Saudi_charity.html


A former al-Qaeda fighter accuses a Saudi charity
By Chris Mondics

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

DOBOJ, Bosnia - For years, Saudi Arabia flatly denied it had provided money and logistical support for Islamist militant groups that attacked Western targets.

But that assertion is disputed by a former al-Qaeda commander who testified in a United Nations war-crimes trial that his unit was funded by the Saudi High Commission for Relief of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, the former al-Qaeda fighter, gave the same account to The Inquirer in an interview in this struggling city in the central Balkans.

"Because it was the biggest charity, helped the mujaheddin the most," Hamad said, adding that it had provided "everything a person needed to exist."

Hamad, 37, is expected to be called as a witness in a lawsuit filed by Cozen O'Connor alleging that Saudi Arabia and affiliated charities financed al-Qaeda and other groups as they geared up for the 9/11 attacks.

[RedSock]

2. PDF of filing

The entire 812-page filing is here.

[Laurier]

4. Thanks for the link

There's a lot to read through, but it's quite fascinating so far.

[seemslikeadream]

3. How Cozen took on a kingdom for 9/11 liability

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20080602_SPECIAL_REPORT__SUING_THE_SAUDIS.html

Second of two parts.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Stephen Cozen huddled with expert witnesses in a seventh-floor conference room of his Center City law firm preparing for what promised to be a bare-knuckle trial over a string of soured movie deals.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake in a dispute over proceeds from Hollywood films including The Truman Show, Runaway Bride, and The General's Daughter. But Cozen's attention was soon diverted by a call from his wife, Sandy.

The World Trade Center had been attacked. Cozen and his associates switched on a TV and with astonishment watched the towers burning and then collapsing.

Like Americans everywhere, Cozen, 67, a hyperactive trial lawyer and onetime college basketball player, was torn between anger at the perpetrators and compassion for the victims.

But there was little time for reflection.

Within hours, Cozen O'Connor was swamped with calls from the insurance companies it represents in handling claims from high-rise office fires, hurricanes and ice storms.