US News

JUDGE CAPS WTC DAMAGE$

A federal judge yesterday capped the amount of damages Larry Silverstein can seek from airline companies he blames for the destruction of the World Trade Center towers – whacking more than $13 billion from the figure he’d proposed.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Silverstein was limited to suing for “the fair market value” of his 99-year lease on the site – or $2.8 billion – and not the $16.2 billion he claimed was the full replacement value of four towers destroyed on 9/11.

In the Manhattan federal court ruling, Hellerstein cited a New York rule that says someone suing for property damage can recover its replacement cost or its decrease in value, whichever is less.

Spokesmen for Silverstein did not immediately comment.