Terror case: Family wins $323 million from Iran, Syria

By Amara Sohn, NBCMiami.com, and Jim Gold, msnbc.com

A Weston, Fla., family has won a landmark $323 million court decision against Iran and Syria, six years after their son was killed by a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv. When they?ll see the money is another matter.

A U.S. federal judge awarded Tuly and Cheryl Wultz the judgment against Iran for financially supporting the Islamic Jihad movement and Syrian for allowing the group to train in its territory. The lawsuit was filed by an Israeli advocacy group on behalf of the family. The award includes $300 million in punitive damages.

Tuly Wultz remembers like it was yesterday how the terrorist looked moments before the April 17, 2006, blast that killed his son, Daniel, when they were vacationing in Israel. They were having lunch in Tel Aviv when the suicide bomber approached, standing 2 feet away from Daniel Wultz, 16.

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?I tried to jump on Daniel but he already detonated and the bomb was over 40 pounds of explosives,? Tuly Wultz recalled in an interview with NBC Miami. He was severely injured, and his son and 10 other people were killed in the attack by an Islamic Jihad militant.

?My heart is still bleeding for Daniel. I?ll never be recovered from that,? the father said.

He said of Daniel Wultz, ?He did what is right, he did what is justice.?

Daniel Wultz died from his injuries on May 14, 2006.

On Monday, the sixth anniversary of his death, his parents received word of the court victory.

Wultz Attorney Robert Tolchin told msnbc.com that with the court judgment in hand his clients can seek Iranian and Syrian assets to collect the award.

Tolchin said he couldn?t be specific, but he would explore ?various avenues.?

?There is a lot of litigation by people seeking the turnover of Iranian assets,? Tolchin said. ?The Iranians have kept U.S. courts busy.?

As in the Wultz case, Iran often does not fight against a judgment, but hires major U.S. firms to fight the collection of the award, Tolchin said.

Syria, on the other hand, did fight the claim and was represented in court by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark.

The case was brought under a special provision of federal law that allows U.S. citizens to take court actions against foreign states providing support for terrorism.

?Iran and Syria are foreign states with substantial wealth and that have expended significant resources sponsoring terrorism,? wrote Judge Royce C. Lamberth in his ruling.

?Barbaric acts like the April 17, 2006 suicide bombing have no place in civilized society and represent a moral depravity that knows no bounds.?

The Wultzes say they are pleased with the decision, which they say is just one step towards justice and a way to ensure their son?s death was not in vain.

?This judgment was important because it?s the first time that there?s a judgment that concerns terrorism against Syria,? Cheryl Wultz said.

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