Havlish v. Taliban; Aliganga v. Taliban

── Havlish v. Taliban; Aliganga v. Taliban ── Case No.: 23-258 (L); 23-354 (L) Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Date: March 19, 2026 Category: General 23-258 (L); 23-354 (L) Havlish v. Taliban; Aliganga v. Taliban UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 19th day of March, two thousand twenty-six. Present: DEBRA ANN LIVINGSTON, Chief Judge, RAYMOND J. LOHIER, JR., RICHARD J. SULLIVAN, JOSEPH F. BIANCO, MICHAEL H. PARK, WILLIAM J. NARDINI, STEVEN J. MENASHI, EUNICE C. LEE, BETH ROBINSON, MYRNA PÉREZ, ALISON J. NATHAN, SARAH A. L. MERRIAM, MARIA ARAÚJO KAHN, Circuit Judges. _____________________________________ FIONA HAVLISH, ET AL., JOHN DOES 1 THROUGH 7, FEDERAL INSURANCE CO., ET AL., RAYMOND ANTHONY SMITH, ET AL., KATHLEEN ASHTON, ET AL., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. 23-258 (L) 23-263 (CON) 23-304 (CON)  23-346 (CON) 23-444 (CON) THE TALIBAN, Defendant-Appellee, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK, Garnishee-Interested-Party-Appellee, _____________________________________ ESTATE OF JESSE NATHANAEL ALIGANGA, ET AL., RIZWAN KHALIQ, ET AL., JAMES OWENS, ET AL., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. 23-354 (L) 23-797 (C) TALIBAN, AKA THE ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF AFGHANISTAN, Defendant-Appellee. _____________________________________ MATTHEW D. MCGILL, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Washington, D.C. (Jessica L. Wagner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Washington, D.C.; Robert L. Weigel, Jason W. Myatt, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, New York, NY; Clifton S. Elgarten, Emily M. Alban, Crowell & Moring LLP, 2 Washington, D.C.; Jane Carol Norman, Bond & Norman Law, PC, Rockville, MD, on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellants Estate of Jesse Nathanael Aliganga, et al., Rizwan Khaliq, et al., and James Owens, et al. IAN HEATH GERSHENGORN, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C. (Douglass A. Mitchell, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C.; Lee Wolosky, Benjamin D. Alter, Jenner & Block LLP, New York, NY; Andrianna D. Kastanek, Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago, IL; David A. Barrett, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, New York, NY; Stuart H. Singer, Boies Schiller Flexner, Fort Lauderdale, FL; Timothy B. Fleming, Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher Goldfarb, PLLC, Washington, D.C., on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellants Fiona Havlish, et al., Appellants in 23-258. SAMUEL ISSACHAROFF, New York University School of Law, New York, NY (Andrew J. Maloney, III, Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, New York, NY; Noam Biale, Sher Tremonte, LLP, New York, NY, on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellants Kathleen Ashton, et al., Appellants in 23-444. John Thornton, Orlando do Campo, do Campo & Thornton, P.A., Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs-Appellants John Does 1 through 7, Appellants in 23-263. Sean P. Carter, Stephen A. Cozen, Cozen O’Connor, Philadelphia, PA; Richard Klingler, Ellis George Cipollone O’Brien Annaguey LLP, Washington, D.C.; Carter G. Phillips, Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, D.C., for Plaintiffs- Appellants Federal Insurance Co., et al., Appellants in 23-346. Dion G. Rassias, The Beasley Firm, LLC, Philadelphia, PA, for Plaintiffs-Appellants Raymond Anthony Smith, et al., Appellants in 23-304. 3  Fol