WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court assured today that trial of a lawsuit involving U.S. passengers of the Achille Lauro, the Mediterranean cruise ship hijacked by terrorists in October, 1985, will be held in the United States.
In a unanimous ruling, the court affirmed a U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said it was premature for the ship owner to appeal a trial court ruling refusing to dismiss a suit filed by the Americans.
The ruling assures at least a trial on the merits of the case in U.S. courts and not in Italian courts, as owners of the cruise ship had sought.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York by passengers who were aboard the Achille Lauro when it was hijacked and by the children of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer.
The wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer was shot to death and thrown overboard during the incident and his wife has since died.
