Authored By: Rob Mohr |
On October 12, 2000, the USS Cole anchored in the Yemeni port of Aden for a routine refueling stop. Less than two hours later, a small boat approached the ship, pulled alongside, and detonated explosives concealed on board. The explosion tore a 40-foot-wide hole in the side of the Cole near the waterline just as many of the crew were gathering in the mess for lunch. Seventeen service members died in the blast, and 40 were injured.
The incident response was swift. FBI agents, Marines, several Navy ships, and two British frigates descended on Aden to assist in the investigation and recovery efforts. The FBI’s investigation determined that al Qaeda was responsible for the attack and that a similar but unsuccessful attack on the USS The Sullivans in January of 2000 was also the work of al Qaeda. In the attempted January bombing, the ship carrying the explosives sank before it could detonate. Terrorists recovered the boat, repaired it, and used it again to execute the attack on the Cole.
Before the year’s end, authorities in Yemen had arrested two al Qaeda members connected to the attack. However, the Yemeni government released them in 2007. Later, US airstrikes in 2012 and 2019 killed both men. Two other men, one connected to the September 11th attacks, were also arrested and are currently held at Guantanamo Bay.
The Carlson Law Firm, an Advocate Capital client, collaborated with other law firms to represent two groups of victims and their families in cases against Iran under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which allowed them to sue Iran for damages on the basis that they provided funding, training, and other material support to al Qaeda.
Since 1984, the United States has recognized Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and created the US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST) in 2015 to provide compensation for victims of terrorist attacks involving a state sponsor of terrorism. Fines and seizures against companies and individuals that do business with embargoed nations, such as Iran, pay for the fund. Sudan, similarly engaged in sponsoring terrorism and connected to the attack on the Cole, paid $335 million to Cole and other terrorism victims in 2020 as a condition of its removal from the state sponsor of terrorism list.
The first case, Taitt vs Iran, obtained a judgment in 2023 for $807 million. The payout contained $128.75 million for pain and suffering, $74 million in solatium damages, and $605.25 million in punitive damages. Craig Carlson, managing partner of The Carlson Law Firm, said at the time, “We hope that this $807 million judgment shows our country’s veterans and their families that no matter who they’re up against, we are a law firm with the resources, determination, and knowledge to seek justice on their behalf.” Represented in the case were 25 Cole sailors who were injured and 33 of their family members.
In 2021, The Carlson Law Firm and its assembled legal team filed another suit against Iran: Mona Gunn v. Islamic Republic of Iran. This suit received a judgment to the tune of $1.956 billion in July of 2024. The Carlson Law Firm and co-counsel filed for 34 survivors and 21 of their family members. The plaintiffs also included 57 family members of those killed in the attack.
In a press release, Carlson said: “As a veteran, representing our nation’s best in such meaningful litigation brings an immense sense of pride, [and] we are currently working on seeking justice for a third group of victims that continue to suffer to this day due to the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.” The Carlson Law Firm has represented a combined 170 plaintiffs in litigation against Iran over the Cole bombing and is working to support some 200 more in their fight for justice.
If you would like to hear more about this case from Craig Carlson, listen to our two-part Cases That Made a Difference podcast episode released earlier this year. Part one is available here and part two is here.
