New York City Seeks Immunity From Sept. 11 Lawsuits

By Karyn Chenoweth Oct 3, 2007, 15:10 GMT

A New York City Police officer salutes a flag at ground zero during ceremonies at the World Trade Center site 11 September 2007 in New York marking the sixth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks. EPA/STAN HONDA/POOL

A federal appeals court panel suggested Monday that the city is not immune from liability in 8,000 cases accusing it and others of failing to properly protect workers cleaning up the World Trade Center site after the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to the AP.

The city's lawyer, James Tyrrell, argued that his client, contractors and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, are not liable for respiratory illnesses and other injuries suffered by thousands of people who cleaned up the site.

He cited a 1951 state law protecting municipalities from lawsuits for actions they take responding to attacks.

Tyrrell said the ultimate decision of what is owed "the heroes of 9/11 is a congressional decision, not a judicial one."

The three-judge panel suggested it believed the defendants are not entirely immune from lawsuits and questioned whether New York City had a right to appeal the issue at this stage of the litigation.

The attorneys said there were three to four more years before the lawsuits to reach trial. The appeals court in Manhattan reserved decision after hearing nearly two hours of arguments.

The AP reports that last year, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan ruled that the defendants were immune for actions taken immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks but that the immunity did not extend for the entire nine months of the cleanup.

Judge Jon Newman said a resolution should be made in the cases because $1 billion set aside by Congress to handle claims by injured workers was not getting "to the people who need it before they die waiting for the distribution."

Port Authority lawyer Richard Williamson urged the appeals court "to grant the dismissal of these cases and let Congress consider whether it wants to consider a second victims' compensation fund."

The AP reports that a victims' compensation fund established by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks has paid out $6 billion to 2,880 families of those who died in the attacks and more than $1 billion to 2,680 injured victims.