A major financial technology firm in New York has settled a lawsuit against Hartford Insurance stemming from a disputed $59 million business interruption claim for the destruction of its World Trade Center office.

The suit was filed by Lava Trading Inc., a developer of stock-trading software for major investment banks and other Wall Street investors, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

According to Hartford representatives, the litigation was settled after the trial judge ruled that testimony from Lava's damages expert was inadequate under federal rules of evidence and thus inadmissible.

Lava Trading's settlement was for "a fraction of the original claims amount," according to Hartford representatives.

According to Chris Campos, senior partner at Campos & Stratis, Hartford's forensic accountant for the case, the dispute arose because Lava had filed a claim for a business interruption of 12 months.

Hartford countered that Lava was essentially back in business in a couple of months when they found new office space following the destruction of their space in the Twin Towers.

"The Hartford decided that Lava's business was back and running by December 2001. In other words, once Lava rented a new facility and had comparable office space and computer lines up and running, it was back in business," Mr. Campos told National Underwriter.

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Firm Settles WTC Suit With Hartford

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