The Wall Street firm that lost the most employees during the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks will collect $135 million through a settlement in its longstanding federal negligent lawsuit against American Airlines and its insurers, lawyers for both sides announced Tuesday.
The deal announced in Manhattan federal court provides some monetary for relief for Cantor Fitzgerald – which lost 658 employees when American Airlines Flight 11 smashed into the World Trade Center’s north tower, where the firm occupied the top floors – while putting end to what was the last of the 9/11-related lawsuits.
“I have to say I look at this settlement with mixed feelings,” an emotional Judge Alvin Hellerstein said. “It has been a long, long effort, and this settlement is the last case of all the 9/11 cases to focus on the airplanes and upon the World Trade Center properties.”
Hellerstein then went on to recite a number of wrongful-death, personal-injury and other lawsuits – includes ones filed by 11,000 emergency responders — that went before him since Sept. 11, 2001 that took up “a lot” of his “time.” In a touching moment, he then left the bench to shake hands with lawyers for all sides.
“Hopefully what was achieved was a measure of achievement, a measure of justice, a measure of reparation and a closure of what was a great tragedy,” the judge added.
Cantor initially sought more than $1 billion in damages. The sum was later reduced to between $464 million and $489 million following a 2011 ruling limiting the firm to seeking damages only for business interruption – and not for its massive death toll.
The $135 million settlement is expected to be ratified at a January 13 hearing.
Cantor in the suit had accused American of negligence by failing to stop terrorist hijackers from boarding the plane and smashing it into the north tower, where more than 1,000 perished. American, however, contended that it had no way to predict the attack.
“For all insurance companies, this was just another case, just another settlement, but not for us,” said Howard Lutnick, Cantor’s chairman and CEO following the hearing. “We could never, and will never, consider it ordinary. ”
For us, there is no way to describe this compromise with adapt words like ordinary, fair or reasonable. All we can say is that the legal formality of this matter is over.”
American Airlines declined comment.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial next month.
More than 3,000 people died during the 9/11 attacks, including those aboard hijacked planes that hit the Pentagon and another that crashed into a Pennsylvania field after brave passengers fought off terrorists.