Friday, Sep 5, 2008
A small but growing group of people who lost loved ones in the terror attacks are giving up federal compensation to sue airlines, airport security firms and the FAA.
Jun 6, 2002 | Waiving federal payments of as much as $1.85 million, 10 people who lost their loved ones in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have sued several U.S. airlines and airport security firms, charging that they are responsible for their relatives' deaths. More lawsuits, including ones against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), are expected in the wake of recent revelations that U.S. officials had received warnings about imminent terrorist attacks, and failed to properly investigate two alleged terrorists.
"We have over 30 clients right now who will probably go the way of a lawsuit," said Mary Schiavo, aviation attorney at Baum, Hedlund, Aristei, Guilford & Schiavo in California, and former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, who is handling nine of the 10 individual cases. "Thanks to these incredible disclosures by the White House and whistleblowers, it just keeps getting easier. These hijackings were foreseeable, unlike what we were initially told."
Named in the suits are American Airlines, United Airlines and two airport security firms, Huntleigh USA Corp. and Argenbright Security Inc. Schiavo's firm is also preparing suits against the FAA.
The Nolan Law Group in Chicago filed the first wrongful death case against the airlines in December and is currently waiting for approval to file five more.
Neither Nolan nor Baum, Hedlund have set figures for damages sought. But Lorna Brett, public affairs official at Nolan, said, "Seven figures is not unusual, whether the case gets settled or sees a jury."
The families say they are bringing the lawsuits to get to the bottom of the intelligence and security failures that led to Sept. 11. They say that money isn't the issue, although some of them also claim that the Victims' Compensation Fund set up by the Department of Justice pays much less than advertised.
To bring the suits, the plaintiffs had to start by opting out of the fund, which was created on Sept. 22 and offers as much as $1.85 million to families afflicted by Sept. 11 tragedies. Those who choose the fund waive their rights to bring lawsuits against American firms and government agencies. (Foreign nationals may still be sued by those who have accepted money from the fund.) Of the 2,823 people eligible for the fund, more than 500 have chosen to accept payments, according to the Department of Justice.
"I thought I'd go for the fund at first. I was thankful for it," said Julie Sweeney, 29, whose husband, Brian, died aboard United Airlines flight 175 out of Logan International Airport in Boston. "But the more I learned about it, the more angry I became. I think it is there to tempt people to move on with their lives, tax free, so they won't ever sue. I call it a government buyout. It screamed 'coverup.'" Sweeney, from Massachusetts, filed her suit on March 6 after spending time researching airport security on the Internet and meeting with Schiavo.
Lance Koutny, also of Massachusetts, says he believes his mother-in-law had too much insurance to allow his family to qualify for even the $250,000 the fund claims is its minimum payout. (The fund's payouts can be adjusted based on financial criteria like insurance.) "I don't believe that we qualify for money from the fund," he says. Koutney's wife, Maria, lost her 53-year-old mother, Marie Pappalardo, on United flight 175. "Marie had significant life and travel insurance. My wife doesn't care about the money. She wants to know what happened on Sept 11." Koutny contacted Schiavo and filed suit against the airline in January.
Both law firms say they recommend that families with immediate financial needs accept the U.S. payment.
The first stage of the legal process -- the collecting of evidence -- has already begun. During a conference call in late April, presiding Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the Southern District Court in Manhattan told Donald J. Nolan, aviation attorney at the Nolan Law Group, he could proceed with discovery, a legal term for requesting information such as interoffice memos and subpoenas. Nolan filed discovery requests with United Airlines. Among the information sought was the following:
All ticketing, baggage and other travel documents related to Marwan Al-Shehhi, Fayez Ahmed, Hamza Alghamdi, Ahmed Alghamdi and Mohald Alshehri, the hijackers aboard United flight 175; a complete passenger list; the FAA-approved Air Carrier Security Plan for Logan International; any and all security directives received by the airlines from Jan 1, 2001, to Sept 11, 2001; information about liability insurance policy; and records of aircraft security inspections.
On May 3, the airline's law firms, Quirk and Bakalor and Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, replied to Judge Hellerstein that the request involved "sensitive security information" and that only the newly formed Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which took over some airport security issues as of Feb. 17, could release it. It asked the court to obtain the views of the TSA before going forward with discovery.
"They are claiming secrecy," said Nolan. "They say they did everything the FAA told them to do with regards to security. But these secrets can't be the basis for withholding evidence from us."
"My guess is that the TSA is going to sit with the judge and say this is top secret information and then it will be up to the judge to decide," said Lorna Brett, public affairs official at Nolan. "If the judge disagrees with them, we get our discovery and it becomes part of the court record. If the judge agrees it is sensitive information and can't be handed over, then we have to file a motion against that call. Let's put it this way, this is going to be a long battle."
The airlines have denied that they were negligent and said they did what the FAA told them to do. Calls to their lawyers were not returned.
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