Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

« DOT closing temporary Barrington span at night | Today | Chafee has no plans now for another political run »

September 17, 2007

ALERT: R.I. family among 14 to settle 9/11 suits

The families of 14 victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including Pawtucket’s Shawn M. Nassaney, today settled lawsuits that they had filed against airlines, security companies, plane manufacturers and airport owners.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, of the Southern District of New York, signed an order today saying agreements had been reached in each of the 14 lawsuits, so the cases will be closed as long as the settlements are completed within 30 days.

All parties agreed to not disclose details of the settlements, which followed pretrial rulings favorable to the plaintiff in a case that was set to go to trial on Monday, Sept. 24, said one of the plaintiff’s lead lawyers, Donald A. Migliori, a Rhode Islander who is a partner in Motley Rice law firm.

“We settled our case,” Nassaney’s father, Patrick Nassaney Sr., said in a statement. “We are ready to put this aspect of our loss behind us. The feelings we are left with are mixed. We learned a great deal about what happened on September 11th, but compensation does not heal our wounds. We choose to focus on our family now. And we will stand by Motley Rice in its continuing fight for answers until the very last case is tried.”

After the attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, 98.5 percent of the victims’ families chose to accept money from a federal compensation fund, and in doing so they gave up their right to sue. But some families opted out of the fund and sued — including relatives of Nassaney and of David L. Angell, who owned a home on the East Side of Providence and was executive director of the Frasier television series.

The Angell case is one of 21 lawsuits that remain unresolved and that may head to trial, Migliori said. No trial date has been set.

“Fourteen of the plaintiffs were in a place to accept the offers that came about as a result of a lot of activity over the past week, including favorable pretrial rulings,” Migliori said. “But 21 cases did not resolve. They haven’t reached that level of completeness regarding compensation and accountability. That fight continues.”

More to come ...

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:08 PM | Permalink

Comments

No wonder our nation looks crazy. Terrorists hijack our airplanes and kill 3,000 of our citizens, and we sue each other.

Think about that.

Justin | September 17, 2007 8:37 PM link

Why the hell should the airlines be responsible for what happened on 9/11?

Ben Gallagher | September 18, 2007 4:31 AM link

The federal compensation fund, is that a fund supported by citizen taxes? This was not a fault accident it was a terrious attack. Its always about money, how it makes us feel better. The cost to citizens for the attack and the cost of war because of the attack. The victims family's feel better when they are paid and the Bush Administration feels better they get to fight for the Oil.

who cares | September 18, 2007 6:08 AM link

I don't think that's the case at all. At the time, the airlines were in charge of hiring and paying for the security of the airports. All of the terrorists got through security at the airport. In fact, some even set off the alarm and the security did not figure out what set off the alarm but instead let them continue on through to the airplanes. I don't think it is about the money for a lot of families, you don't even know how much they got. They could have received nothing if the cases were thrown out but they chose to take that risk. I think instead it was a case of wanting to hold someone responsible.

anonymous | September 18, 2007 4:55 PM link

September 17, 2007

ALERT: R.I. family among 14 to settle 9/11 suits

Comments

Post a comment