Estate of Amer Fakhoury v. Islamic Republic of Iran


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ESTATE OF AMER FAKHOURY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. 21-1218 (JDB) THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiffs brought this action against defendant the Islamic Republic of Iran to recover damages stemming from the alleged kidnapping, torture, and killing of Amer Fakhoury. Compl. [ECF No. 1] ¶¶ 82–108. Portions of plaintiffs’ complaint discuss Fakhoury’s detention in Lebanon; the torture he allegedly suffered at the hands of Hezbollah; and his release, which plaintiffs claim resulted in the quid-pro-quo release of a Lebanese national held by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. E.g., id. ¶¶ 48–55, 62. The General Directorate of General Security of Lebanon (“GDGS”) filed a motion to intervene “for the limited purpose of moving to strike the allegations made against it in the complaint . . . pursuant to” Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f). Proposed Intervenor GDGS’s Mot. for Limited Intervention & to Strike [ECF No. 7] (“Mot. to Strike Compl.”) at 1. In addition to opposing GDGS’s motion, Pls.’ Opp’n to Mot. to Strike Compl. [ECF No. 9] (“Opp’n to Mot. to Strike Compl.”), plaintiffs moved for leave to file a supplemental complaint against the Republic of Lebanon and GDGS, arguing that, by intervening, Lebanon “consented to the jurisdiction of this Court,” Mot. by Pls. for Leave to File a Suppl. Compl. Against the Republic of Lebanon & GDGS [ECF No. 10] (“Mot. to File Suppl. Compl.”) at 2. Finally, after briefing on these two motions ended, GDGS filed a supplemental memorandum in further support of its motion to strike, 1 GDGS’s Suppl. Mem. of L. in Further Supp. of Mot. to Strike Compl. [ECF No. 16] (“Suppl. Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Strike Compl.”), which plaintiffs then moved to strike as an unauthorized sur-reply, Mot. by Pls. to Strike Unauthorized Sur-Reply Filed by Intervenor GDGS [ECF No. 17] (“Mot. to Strike Sur-Reply”). For the reasons explained below, the Court will grant only plaintiffs’ motion to strike GDGS’s sur-reply and will deny all other requests. Background 1 I. Factual Background Amer Fakhoury was a member of the South Lebanese Army from 1983 to 2000. Compl. ¶ 27. The South Lebanese Army was a Christian faction within the Lebanese Army that opposed Hezbollah and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon. Id. ¶ 22. While in the South Lebanese Army, Fakhoury worked at the Khiam Detention Center for eight years. Id. ¶ 28. Plaintiffs claim that his position was “purely logistical” and that he was responsible for tasks such as “supplying food and essentials to . . . the soldiers and prisoners stationed there.” Id. The South Lebanese Army aligned with and was supported by Israel, Compl. ¶ 23, but when Israel withdrew from South Lebanon in 2000, members of the South Lebanese Army were left vulnerable to attacks from Hezbollah, id. ¶ 30. Fakhoury fled to Northern Israel that same year. Id. ¶ 37. Fakhoury and his family then immigrated to the United States in …

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