Judge Rules Insurance Companies to Pay WTC Legal Costs

Shannon Weidemann

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In a ruling by New York Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, insurance companies for the City of New York are responsible for legal costs associated with defending the city in World Trade Center cases. A $1 Billion captive insurance fund was set up by the federal government to pay claims, but that money was being used to pay for legal costs as well. The city has had legal expenses of $100 Million.

Plaintiffs lawyer Paul Napoli Jr. has headed a campaign to force the insurance fund to begin making payments to claimants, but lawyers for the city say he and his co-counsel have refused to recognize any cap on liability in the action and have misrepresented the fund as a "pot of money" just waiting to be distributed.

Napoli, other plaintiffs attorneys and members of Congress have criticized the city for using the funds to pay large legal bills rather than compensating 9/11 responders who have incurred respiratory and other health problems as a result of work at the World Trade Center site.

New York City has also been denied immunity from lawsuits by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Thousands of people have fallen ill since the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. It is believed that toxic fumes and substances from the buildings collapsing filled the air and were inhaled by people who responded to the scene.