58
356 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT, 3d SERIES
v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 999 F.Supp. 1,
29 (D.D.C. 1998) ).
[34, 35] ‘‘Mental anguish, bereavement
and grief resulting from’’ an immediate
family member’s death or injury ‘‘constitutes the preponderant element of a claim
for solatium.’’ Id. at 356–57 (quoting Flatow, 999 F.Supp. at 30) (alteration
adopted); see also Baker v. Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahirya, 775
F.Supp.2d 48, 83 (D.D.C. 2011) (‘‘A claim
of solatium seeks compensation for the
‘mental anguish, bereavement and grief
that those with a close personal relationship to a decedent experience as a result of
the decedent’s death, as well as the harm
caused by the loss of the decedent, society
and comfort.’ ’’ (quoting Belkin v. Islamic
Republic of Iran, 667 F.Supp.2d 8, 22
(D.D.C. 2009) ) ). In determining the appropriate amount to compensate victims’
family members for emotional distress,
‘‘the Court may look to prior decisions
awarding damages TTT for solatium.’’ Acosta, 574 F.Supp.2d at 29.
Solatium damages, by their nature, are
‘‘unquantifiable,’’ Moradi, 77 F.Supp.3d at
72, and, therefore, this Court has developed a commonly accepted standardized
framework, known as the Heiser damages
framework, for solatium damages, Estate
of Heiser v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 466
F.Supp.2d 229, 269 (D.D.C. 2006); see also
Roth, 78 F.Supp.3d at 403 (noting the
‘‘framework has been adopted by other
courts as an appropriate measure of solatium damages for the family members of
victims of state-sponsored terror’’ (citing
Valore, 700 F.Supp.2d at 85) ). Though use
of the Heiser framework is not mandatory,
Fraenkel, 892 F.3d at 351 (‘‘District Court
judges invariably must exercise discretion
in determining damages awards under the
FSIA. There is no statutory basis for concluding that district courts must award
solatium damages in the amounts that
Heiser found commonly granted.’’ (emphasis in original) ), this Court adopts this
framework here in the interest of consistency. As a baseline, under the Heiser
framework, parents ‘‘received $ 5 million.’’
Valencia v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 774
F.Supp.2d 1, 15 (D.D.C. 2010). As noted,
‘‘families of victims who have died are
typically awarded greater damages than
families of victims who remain alive.’’ Estate of Heiser, 466 F.Supp.2d at 269 (quoting Haim v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 425
F.Supp.2d 56, 75 (D.D.C. 2006) ).
[36] These numbers serve only as a
baseline from which the Court may deviate
to compensate for specific circumstances.
See Fraenkel, 892 F.3d at 362 (‘‘While past
solatium awards from comparable cases
are appropriate sources of guidance for
district courts, different plaintiffs (even
under FSIA) will prove different facts that
may well (and should) result in different
damage awards.’’ (internal quotation
marks omitted) ). Factors militating in favor of an award enhancement generally
fall into one of three categories: ‘‘evidence
establishing an especially close relationship between the plaintiff and decedent,
particularly in comparison to the normal
interactions to be expected given the familial relationship; medical proof of severe
pain, grief or suffering on behalf of the
claimant; and circumstances surrounding
the terrorist attack which made the suffering particularly more acute or agonizing.’’
Oveissi v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 768
F.Supp.2d 16, 26–27 (D.D.C. 2011). ‘‘Decisions to deviate from the starting points
provided by the Heiser framework are
committed to the discretion of the particular court in each caseTTTT’’ Id. at 26.
In Fred and Cindy’s case, an upward
enhancement is warranted. ‘‘While it is
difficult to quantify the grief that’’ Fred
and Cindy ‘‘have experienced, and continue
to experience, as a result of North Korea’s