NY court weighs immunity claim in '93 WTC bombing
Legal News Center
The agency that owned and operated the World Trade Center urged the state's top court Wednesday to reject remaining negligence claims for the 1993 bombing by terrorists who detonated a van of explosives in the public garage beneath its twin towers, killing 6 people and injuring about 1,000.
In lawsuits citing security concerns since 1984, a jury found that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey failed as a landlord to maintain reasonably safe premises and was 68 percent at fault, blaming the terrorists for the other 32 percent. A midlevel court upheld the verdict.
In arguments Wednesday, attorney Richard Rothman said the Court of Appeals should uphold the Port Authority's claims of governmental immunity for its counter-terrorism measures against what was an unprecedented event, a foreign terrorist attack on the U.S. In court papers, he noted that the FBI building in Washington, D.C., and the New York Police Department headquarters and the United Nations building, both in Manhattan, all had unrestricted underground parking at that time against what was regarded as a relatively low-level threat.
Rothman said the 110-story towers housed offices for the governor and several state and federal agencies, and the Port Authority was doing security assessments across its network, including airports. "Treating the Port Authority as just another landlord ... is directly contrary to the statutes under which the World Trade Center was created," he said.
Even if regarded under the law as a commercial landlord, Rothman argued it was likewise undisputed that authority officials had many high-level meetings about security and were in touch with federal authorities before the bombing. The twin towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, when jetliners hijacked by terrorists flew into them.
Related listings
-
Court to clarify witness identification rules
Legal News Center 05/31/2011The Supreme Court will decide whether a witness identification of a man suspected in a break-in of a car should be thrown out. The high court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal from Barion Perry, who is in prison for breaking into a car in 2008. A w...
-
Gov. Rick Perry signs tort reform bill into law
Legal News Center 05/30/2011Gov. Rick Perry signed into law Monday a measure that will limit frivolous lawsuits by levying some fees on plaintiffs and allowing meritless suits to be dismissed early in the process. Perry designated the "loser pays" bill a top priority of the leg...
-
Fugitive Russian lawmaker living in Beverly Hills
Legal News Center 05/29/2011A sensational dispute between Moscow billionaires with a storyline that rivals Hollywood has spilled across international borders: Surveillance photographs showed a fugitive Russian lawmaker living in Beverly Hills, California. Someone tried to hack ...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.