Opinion ID: 8704097
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Solatium for Family Member Plaintiffs

Text: This Court has previously set out a general framework for solatium awards for the relatives of victims killed by terrorist attacks — awarding $4,000,000 to a spouse, $2.5 million to a child, and $1.25 million to a sibling. See Heiser v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 466 F.Supp.2d 229, 271-359 (D.D.C.2006). This framework has been extended to cases in which the victim survived a terrorist attack or hostage-taking. Reed v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 845 F.Supp.2d 204, 213-14 (D.D.C.2012). This framework is also appropriate here. The immediate family members of Wyatt and Wilson suffered an unbearable ordeal in which they could only imagine what would be the fate of their loved ones. Indeed, they too are direct victims of terrorism, as the terror they experienced serves also as a means and end of the actions of terrorists carrying out their criminal acts. Accordingly, this Court awards $4,000,000 each to plaintiffs Renetta Wilson and Mary Nell Wyatt, the spouses of Marvin Wilson and Ronald Wyatt, and $2,500,000 each to Plaintiffs Daniel Wyatt, Amanda Lippelt, Michelle Sehelles, Marty Wilson, Kimi Johns, Gina Wilson, Bradley Key, and Barry Key, the children of Marvin Wilson and Ronald Wyatt.