Families’ 9/11 liability suit could go to trial

Stephen C. Webster
Raw Story
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008

A federal district court judge in Manhattan said Monday that he will decide whether or not a suit brought against US airlines by families of several victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, may proceed.

“I would like some truth and accountability, and I want the public to hear it,” said Mike Low, whose daughter Sara was a flight attendant on American Airlines flight 11. Low spoke with the Boston Globe for a Monday report.

The families of Barbara Keating, 72, Mark Bavis, 31, and Sara Low, 28, asked Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to allow their full liability suit against airlines and security companies in Boston to progress to trial.

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The suit alleges that security at Dulles International Airport, Newark International Airport and Logan International Airport was negligent in allowing the alleged terrorists to board the flights.

To date, no family members of Sept. 11 victims have had a day in court. Over 3,000 families have instead accepted lucrative settlements from the federal victims compensation fund, with the average figure hovering in the range of $2 million.

For these families, it isn’t just about seeing justice. They seek to tell their fallen relatives’ stories, and establish a public archive to further explore the attacks of Sept. 11.

In a related post, the Globe said that the families are unshaken by news that the men the Bush administration alleges to be the plotters of the attack plan to plead guilty.

“It’s good for the country,” said the families’ attorney, Donald A. Migliori, of the guilty pleas. “But it’s irrelevant to our claims.”

The prisoners’ pleas are reportedly a show of contempt for the military tribunal process at Guantanamo Bay, where detainees do not have access to American due process.

In at least one instance, a guilty plea by a Guantanamo detainee was directly influenced by Vice President Dick Cheney.

For the families and their demand for justice, their wait may soon be over.

“We owe them a debt of gratitude, especially for their efforts to create a public archive of information,” retired FAA agent Brian F. Sullivan told the Globe.

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