Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center in New York is seeking $12.3 billion in damages from the airlines and other companies for damages related to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The defendants include American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Boeing.
Of the $12.3 Billion, $8.4 billion is sought to replace buildings and $3.9 billion would pay for lost income and expenses.
This could be a fascinating case and could lead to some interesting discovery, particularly the failure of the airlines to heed repeated warning in prior years to reinforce cockpit doors and spend more money on security. It will also make for some interesting questions of the superseding intervening acts of the terrorists. While crime will often cut off liability in tort, some crime is foreseeable and actionable. The process of defending against such allegation could prove quite embarrassing for the airlines, who have been relatively quite about their failures leading up to the attacks.
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