Judge upholds ruling against 9/11 lawsuit

? Families of Sept. 11 victims were rebuffed again Thursday in their attempt to hold Saudi Arabia and its rulers legally responsible for the terror attacks.

A Manhattan federal appeals court backed a ruling by a lower court judge over two years ago that threw out a lawsuit by the families, including that of a former FBI agent, seeking damages for the thousands of deaths caused by the attacks.

In a ruling by a three-judge panel, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, four Saudi princes, a Saudi banker and the Saudi commission responsible for disbursing funds to charities were protected from lawsuits under U.S. law.

The lawsuit was filed against the Saudis, Osama bin Laden, various banks and suspected terrorists as a class action.

The ruling only throws out the case against the Saudis.

Jerry S. Goldman, the Manhattan attorney for the family of former FBI terror expert John P. O’Neill, who died at the World Trade Center where he was security director, said the plaintiffs will appeal and believe the Saudis gave financial support to the hijackers.