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Federal Judge Orders More Talks on 9/11 Deal
The federal judge overseeing litigation between the city and workers at ground zero on Friday rejected a settlement, telling lawyers that it did not provide enough compensation to plaintiffs and needed to be renegotiated under his supervision. The decision by the judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein of United States District Court in Manhattan, came in a hearing barely a week after the settlement was announced following more than six years of legal maneuvering. The settlement provided for payouts totaling $575 million to $657.5 million in cases filed by some 10,000 rescue and cleanup workers who say they suffered health damages from toiling at ground zero after the 2001 terrorist attack."This is no ego trip for me," Judge Hellerstein told a packed but hushed courtroom moments after hearing emotional testimony from some of the plaintiffs. "This is work. I will preside over a process that's fair." The judge had previously given signs that he intended to closely oversee how the settlement was carried out to ensure that individual workers were treated fairly. On Monday he issued an order stripping lawyers on the two sides of sole authority to choose an administrator and a medical panel to evaluate the plaintiffs' claims and said court approval would be needed. Posted by: Steve White 2010-03-20 |
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