Hegna v. Islamic Republic of Iran

MEMORANDUM ORDER

RAKOFF, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are the wife and children of Charles Hegna, an American murdered in a 1984 hijacking undertaken by Hezbollah, a terrorist organization supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2001, the Heg-nas obtained a default judgment of $42,000,000 in compensatory damages and $333,000,000 in punitive damages against the Islamic Republic of Iran. See Affidavit of Raymond A. Connell, Esq., dated September 15, 2003, at ¶ 4. Thereafter, however, plaintiffs obtained partial recovery on the judgment pursuant to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence…