Lafayette family awarded nearly $50 million for son's death in Marine Barracks terrorism case

A U.S. district court judge has awarded Percy “Blackie” Trahan, a retired Lafayette barber, and the estates of his wife, Shirley, and son Lex, $49,658,756 in a case involving the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

Warren Perrin, the Lafayette attorney who handled the case for the Trahans, said the award was made last week by federal Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, an Obama administration appointee, in First District Court in Washington, D.C. He said the award can be collected, perhaps over many years, through existing Iranian accounts, including one in Luxembourg.

“I’ve talked with Blackie twice,” Perrin said. “He broke down crying twice. He was very happy.”

Trahan declined comment Saturday.

Perrin said Trahan will need some congressional action to help facilitate the award. He has contacted the offices of U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy and U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette.

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