ALBANY, N.Y. – New York's highest court says a Lebanese bank's use of a New York account for multimillion-dollar wire transfers establishes the basis for a lawsuit here by Israeli victims of 2006 Hezbollah rocket attacks.
The lawsuit was filed by American, Canadian and Israeli citizens who live in northern Israel. It claims Lebanese Canadian Bank supported terrorism by handling international financial transactions of the Hezbollah affiliate Shahid Foundation. The lawsuit says the money was moved through an account at American Express Bank in New York.
A federal judge in 2010 dismissed the lawsuit against the now-defunct bank that was headquartered in Beirut, citing lack of jurisdiction.
On appeal, the state Court of Appeals was asked to determine if there is a basis for the claims under New York's civil statutes.
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