Mohamed

ORDER GRANTING THE UNITED STATES’ MOTION TO INTERVENE AND GRANTING THE UNITED STATES’ MOTION TO DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE

I. INTRODUCTION

This lawsuit was filed by Plaintiffs, who are foreign nationals, for damages inflicted upon them in a so-called “rendition” program operated under the auspices of the United States Government. Plaintiffs allege that under the program they were unlawfully apprehended, transported, imprisoned, interrogated and in some instances tortured — all under the direction of the United States. Defendant, Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., is a domestic corporation with its headquarters in San Jose, California. Defendant is being sued for its alleged participation in the program. Plaintiffs are proceeding under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350 , which gives the District Courts original jurisdiction to hear actions that allege tortious conduct committed against aliens in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States. The United States seeks to intervene in the action, to assert the “state secrets” privilege, and on that basis, to move the Court for dismissal of the action or alternatively for summary judgment.

The Court conducted a hearing on…