$54M Verdict Upheld Against Salvadoran Generals

Atlanta, GA: Jan. 6, 2006. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld a $54.6 million jury verdict against Generals Jose Guillermo Garcia and Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, two former Ministers of Defense who oversaw the worst period of human rights violations in El Salvador’s history.

The plaintiffs in the case–Juan Romagoza, Neris Gonzalez and Carlos Mauricio–were tortured during the early 1980s at the hands of El Salvador’s repressive military. Garcia and Vides Casanova came to the US in 1989 and continue to lilve in South Florida today.

The San Francisco-based Center for Justeice & Accountability (CJA) filed the case in May 1999 under two federal statutes, the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection ACt (TVPA). In 2002, after a four week trial, a West Palm Beach jury found the generals responsible for the torture of the three plaintiffs and ordered them to pay $54.6 million in damages.

The generals appealedthe verdict, arguing that the case was not filed within the 10 year statute oflimitations period permitted by the ATCA and TVPA. 

In early 2005, theEleventh Circuit issued an opinion initially overturning the verdict based onthe statute of limitations issue.  However, in a rare move, the EleventhCircuit vacated the order in August 2005.  With the most recent ruling theappeals court has now affirmed the jury verdict and stated decisively that thedoctrine of “equitable tolling” applies to this case, meaning the plaintiffs’ delay infiling their claims was justified. 

Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat, whoauthored the opinion, wrote, “This case . . . exemplifies the kind of‘extraordinary circumstances’ that, in the interests of justice, requireequitable tolling.”  The court found that the10-year statute of limitations can be suspended not only until the time thatthe defendants came to the United States but also until the time thatwidespread violence in El Salvador subsided with the signing of peace accordsin 1992.   Before that time, the plaintiffs could not have takensteps to bring the generals to justice without fear of reprisal.

Matt Eisenbrandt, CJA’sLitigation Director, stated, “This decision is a landmark victory for humanrights.  The case sets an important precedent on the statute oflimitations issue, and reinforces the principle that military commanders areresponsible for abuses committed by their subordinates.  In today’s world,where torture is in the headlines everyday, this ruling sends a powerfulmessage to commanders everywhere that these abuses will not be tolerated.”

CJA, a non-profit human rights organization that worksto bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice, is joined asco-counsel by James K. Green, Peter Stern of the law firm Morrison &Foerster, Prof. Carolyn Patty Blum, Prof Beth van Schaack, and Susan Shawn Roberts.

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