WTC Lease Holder Gets Bad News

NU Online News Service, Jan. 2, 1:00 p.m. EST?The lease holder of the World Trade Center in New York ended his year on a sour note in his bid to get insurers to pay double what they contended they were obligated to pay when terrorists struck and destroyed the two towers on Sept. 11, 2001.[@@]

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey in Manhattan ruled that jurors could be told of an appeals court decision unfavorable to Larry Silverstein's bid to get insurers to pay two claims instead of the one claim insurers state they owe him.

On Sept. 26, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that a lower court's decision that the terror attack constituted one event not two, as Mr. Silverstein contends, would stand.

Under the policy, Mr. Silverstein is entitled to $3.5 billion per event. He is looking to collect close to $7 billion, contending that the two jets that struck the towers were two events.

The insurers involved include Swiss Re, The Hartford, Travelers, The St. Paul Companies, Royal Indemnity and others.

A trial date has been set for early February.

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