Lisa O'Brien, et al. v. United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Whether Congress intended to preempt state wrongful death distribution laws in enacting the Anti-Terrorism Act (“ATA”), 1 to award wrongful death damages to individuals beyond those allowed by applicable state law (awards to “nonheirs”), or whether Congress intended state law to supplement the wrongful death cause of action supplied by the ATA to protect and respect a state’s interest in ensuring full compensation to those heirs who were financially dependent upon a decedent?

Whether the institutional interests of the federal courts require the enforcement of a statute of limitations against defendants-in-default, in a two-decade-old litigation, where the alternative is an ever-expanding court docket for new plaintiffs for decades to come, and where untimely claims reduce the money paid to authorized heirs who have filed timely claims and timely objections? 1 The ATA provides a private right of action for any United States national injured by an act of international terrorism. 18 U.S.C. § 2333 et seq., is the civil remedies provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act, added Oct. 29, 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-572, Title X, § 1003(a)(4), 106 Stat. 4506, codified as amended.