Greenwire: A federal judge has rejected a recently reached settlement between New York City and workers at the former site of the World Trade Center, saying the deal did not provide enough compensation to plaintiffs.
The ruling Friday came little more than a week after first word that a settlement had been reached to pay police, firefighters and construction workers who have complained of health problems tied to the site. That deal, coming after six years of debate, provided payouts of up to $657.5 million in damages to some 10,000 workers total (Greenwire, March 12).
“This is no ego trip for me,” said Judge Alvin Hellerstein of Manhattan’s U.S. District Court. “This is work. I will preside over a process that’s fair.”
Hellerstein expressed concern that too much of the settlement — about one-third — was going to the plaintiffs’ legal fees. Those fees should instead be covered by the WTC Captive Insurance Co., the same insurance company funding the overall settlement and the city’s legal fees.
“There has to be additional negotiations to come up with a better and fair settlement,” Hellerstein said. “I will not preside over a settlement based on fear or ignorance.”
The WTC Captive Insurance Co. was disappointed with the judge’s decision, the company’s CEO, Christine LaSala, said in a statement.
“I am very disappointed that the judge has now made it more difficult, if not impossible, for the people bringing these claims to obtain compensation and a settlement,” LaSala said. “We heard people today plead for an end to this litigation that was fair and just. That is what we focused on and achieved” (Mireya Navarro, New York Times, March 19). – PV