This NY Times Magazine article chronicles the massive tort case that South Carolina trial lawyer, Ronald L. Motley, has brought in connection with the 9-11 attacks on the United States. Mr. Motley thinks of terrorism as a depraved and ruthlessly efficient business that Saudi Arabians largely finance. As Gerald Posner persuasively showed in his book “Why America Slept“, Mr. Motley believes that the 19 hijackers would never have been able to carry out their attacks without generous Saudi financial assistance. Accordingly, Mr. Motley has filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C. federal court charging that a wide variety of Saudi parties sponsored the attacks by making donations to institutions that they knew fostered terrorism. Among the case’s 205 defendants are seven Saudi charities, three Saudi financial institutions, dozens of prominent Saudi individuals, and several members of the House of Saud royal family. Mr. Motley’s case is by far the largest civil case filed in connection with the 9-11 attacks — the families of 1,667 people who died that day, as well as 1,197 men and women who sustained injuries, have signed on as plaintiffs. This is an interesting article about a case that will be fun to follow.

Professor Bainbridge has this timely post on the SEC‘s announcement yesterday of its new 8-K “real time” reporting rules. Effective August 23, 2004, Form 8-K disclosures will need to be made within four business days rather from the current five business day-fifteen calendar day deadlines assigned to various 8-K items. A must read for corporate lawyers and executives in publicly-owned corporations.