Magistrate Sarah Netburn presided over a hearing yesterday that brought together dozens of lawyers who have filed lawsuits since September.
The lawsuits represent thousands of family members of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, and others who were injured. Saudi Arabia is scheduled in June to ask to toss out the lawsuits.
Netburn said she'd like to see some consolidation among over a dozen lawsuits alleging many of the same facts. The lawsuits claim Saudi Arabia supported al-Qaida for a decade before the Sept. 11 attacks through a series of purported charities and through other means.