2 Attacks Hit WTC, A Jury Concludes

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The New York Sun

A jury’s finding yesterday that the September 11, 2001, attack by two hijacked planes on the World Trade Center was two occurrences for insurance purposes provides an extra $1.1 billion, ensuring “a timely and complete rebuild” of the destroyed complex, its leaseholder says.


The conclusion by the jury of nine women and two men in U.S. District Court in Manhattan left Larry Silverstein “thrilled with today’s victory” as he works to recreate Lower Manhattan with buildings, including the world’s tallest at 1,776 feet.


“This is a win for all New Yorkers,” Mr. Silverstein said in a statement released shortly after the late afternoon verdict.


The trial boosted Mr. Silverstein’s potential payout to $4.6 billion, well above the $3.5 billion for which he had actually insured the trade center. It fell short of the $7 billion he had once hoped to collect.


Mr. Silverstein might have qualified for more, but he lost a bid earlier this year to convince another jury that some of the 24 insurance companies holding the bulk of the coverage were not bound by an insurance document defining the attack as one event.


The trial, which ended yesterday after 11 days of deliberations, was the first in which jurors were asked to decide whether the terrorist attack that killed 2,749 people could be considered two attacks since two planes hit two separate towers.


At stake in the trial was a potential doubling of $1.1 billion of the overall trade center policy held by nine insurers.


To collect the extra money and boost the total payout to $4.6 billion, Mr. Silverstein still must go to a three-person appraisal panel, and the insurers are also expected to appeal the decision.


In his statement, Mr. Silverstein said the extra money will make it easier to meet rebuilding goals, including construction of the Freedom Tower, the world’s tallest building, by 2009.


“I strongly felt, and the jury agreed, that the destruction of the twin towers by two separate airplanes at two separate times was two separate occurrences and that these insurers have an obligation to pay their fair share to help make Lower Manhattan whole again,” he said.


Regardless of the insurance payout, Mr. Silverstein and redevelopment officials have promised to rebuild the trade center complex in the next decade, including 10 million square feet of office space, a memorial, and cultural buildings.


The insurance companies involved in the case were: Travelers Indemnity Co., Industrial Risk Insurers, Royal Indemnity Co., Allianz Insurance Co., Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co., Twin City Fire Insurance Co., Tig Insurance Co., Westfield WTC LLC, and Zurich American Insurance Co. Their lawyers declined to comment after the verdict.


In her closing argument, lawyer Carolyn H. Williams argued on behalf of the companies that the hijacked planes were like guided missiles and that the insurance payout should not depend on whether terrorists used “one or two or 10 or 100 weapons.”


Ms. Williams also declined to comment after the verdict.


On behalf of Mr. Silverstein, attorney Bernard Nussbaum said there was precedent in the insurance industry to find the terrorism was two events. A California case concluded that four separate events occurred when an arsonist set four fires, including two six minutes apart in courthouses 200 yards apart.


The New York Sun

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