RICHMOND (AP) -- A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit by the families of 17 sailors killed in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit against Sudan.
U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar had ruled that the families could not seek damages for emotional distress because they had already won an earlier judgment for compensatory damages. Doumar said the plaintiffs could not sue twice for the same terrorist attack.
The appeals court unanimously disagreed. It ruled that a law passed by Congress in 2008 while the first suit was still on appeal specifically allowed the families to file the second lawsuit.
AP-WF-06-20-13 1605GMT
