Over 95% of Plaintiffs Accept World Trade Center Settlement

-10,043 plaintiffs signed releases accepting settlement terms, according to the Allocation Neutral's report to the Court, with 98% of those claiming some of the most severe injuries signing on.


-- The WTC Captive Insurance Company confirms the 95% participation threshold of eligible plaintiffs has been reached.

/PRNewswire/ -- Over 95% of the eligible plaintiffs have accepted a settlement worth at least $625 million in compensation, which will result in the dismissal of their claims against the City of New York and its contractors for injuries they say they suffered from their work during the rescue, recovery and/or clean-up efforts after the terrorist attack of 9/11. The WTC Captive Insurance Company confirms the 95% participation threshold of eligible plaintiffs has been reached, subject to the correction of certain deficiencies in some releases.

The Allocation Neutral, appointed under the agreement, reported the opt-in numbers to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, who previously had declared the settlement "fair and reasonable," in the face of "potent defenses" held by the City and its contractors under the law.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs noted that over 98% of plaintiffs in Tier 4, claiming the most severe injuries that could possibly be tied to work at the site, agreed to the settlement. In addition, over 95% of the plaintiffs in Tiers 2 and 3, with less severe injuries, also signed on.

"It has been my personal and professional mission to ensure that we negotiate a settlement that is fair and reasonable to all sides and I am extremely heartened that the overwhelming majority of plaintiffs have decided that is exactly what we achieved," said Christine LaSala, President and CEO of the WTC Captive Insurance Company. "I hope that this settlement will bring closure to the heroes on both sides of this litigation who did their best to repair this City and restore this community in those difficult days and months following 9/11."

"This process has been intense for all, but the numbers of people opting in show that the settlement we developed and the process to obtain compensation have been judged fair and transparent by those plaintiffs," said Margaret H. Warner, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery, who negotiated the settlement on behalf of the WTC Captive Insurance Company. "Crafting this settlement has been especially challenging given the emotional significance of the work done by all, plaintiffs and defendants, in aid of our country in those difficult days and months. It was important that the compensation reflect the seriousness of injuries claimed and the strength of the legal claim, while also being transparent in all respects."

"We negotiated for over two years to achieve this settlement for our clients, which we truly believe is the best result, given the uncertainty of protracted litigation," said Paul Napoli, a senior partner with the law firm Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli, Bern, LLP. "We are working around the clock to conclude settlements we have negotiated with a few other defendants that will add more than $100 million in additional compensation for our clients."

"This settlement is a fair and just resolution of these claims, protecting those who came to the aid of this City when we needed it most," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "We will continue our commitment to treatment and monitoring of those who were present at Ground Zero. This settlement can also help encourage the Senate to follow the lead of their colleagues in the House of Representatives and pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which will now be a less expensive proposition due to the payments made under this settlement agreement."

"All parties have worked tirelessly to come to a fair and just resolution to this litigation. The settlement avoids costly and time consuming litigation that serves no one's interests. The lawsuits between the City and its contractors on the one hand, and the rescue and recovery workers on the other, pit one set of heroes against another," said Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo of the New York City Law Department. "We will continue to urge the Senate to pass the Zadroga Act and re-open the WTC Victim Compensation Fund."

"The City and its contractors have an array of powerful defenses to these claims and do not admit any liability. Those defenses include the important doctrine of immunity under state and federal law for those responding to a civil emergency, which will be pursued with respect to plaintiffs who have opted out," said James E. Tyrrell, Jr., a partner at Patton Boggs, LLP, who is lead defense counsel representing the City and its contractors.

"We welcome this settlement so that our clients can have compensation that offers certainty and closure," said Nicholas Papain, Andrew Carboy and Michael Block, members of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C., representing 640 firefighters in the lawsuit.

The Amended Settlement Process Agreement was signed by plaintiffs' attorneys and the WTC Captive on June 10, 2010 but required 95 percent of the plaintiffs to accept the settlement by a certain date in order for it to become effective. The opt-in deadline date originally was set at September 8, 2010 but was extended to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 16, 2010.

About the Settlement

Compensation was determined on the severity of the illness claimed and the likelihood it could be linked to work at the World Trade Center operations. For example, those claiming debilitating respiratory illnesses such as severe asthma, contracted by a non-smoker within seven months of exposure at the World Trade Center site and surrounding areas, could receive between $800,000 and $1,050,000, and approximately $1.5 million could go to compensate claims of death determined to be caused by the post 9/11 operations. Plaintiffs who have no qualifying injury, but have a legal claim for fear of becoming sick, will receive $3,250. All qualifying plaintiffs will be enrolled in a special insurance policy through MetLife to provide coverage for certain blood and respiratory cancers diagnosed during the coverage period, paying a benefit of up to $100,000.

To ensure transparency and independence in determining compensation for each plaintiff, an Allocation Neutral, a neutral third party, will oversee the valuation of each claim, assisted by a panel of independent physicians. The Garretson Firm Resolution Group, Inc., an experienced claims administration company, will serve as the Allocation Neutral. The firm and the physician panel will review the proof that each plaintiff is required to submit under the settlement, showing that he or she was present and participated in 9/11-related rescue, recovery and debris removal operations, as well as specific medical documentation. All of this information must be submitted by plaintiffs under oath and will be subject to audit. Plaintiffs can ask for the Allocation Neutral to reconsider its initial decision and, after that review, appeal to the Claims Appeal Neutral.

Kenneth R. Feinberg, former Special Master for the U.S. Government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, will serve as the Claims Appeal Neutral. He will serve pro bono. Mr. Feinberg will determine appeals requested by plaintiffs seeking review of the Garretson Firm's decisions. His determinations will be binding and may be used to adjust a plaintiff's final compensation.

About the WTC Captive Insurance Company

In the absence of commercially available insurance, the WTC Captive Insurance Company was formed in July 2004 to insure the City of New York and nearly 140 contractors, subcontractors and others it engaged against claims arising out of the debris removal process that began immediately after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The mission of the WTC Captive is to insure and defend in court, and thereby to protect, the City and the contractor and subcontractor policyholders as claims are processed, adjudicated and resolved.

Organized as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York and licensed by the New York State Insurance Department, the WTC Captive is governed by a five-member Board of Directors composed of current and former City officials plus a representative of the City's lead contractors.

The WTC Captive was funded with just under $1 billion in federal funds provided through a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—part of the $20 billion of such funds requested by the Administration and authorized by Congress to help New York City and its people recover and rebuild after 9/11.

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Secretary of State Kemp Announces Victory in Long Fight to Secure Georgia’s Voter Rolls

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp today announced that following the State’s June 22, 2010 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the DOJ consented to preclearance of the State’s voter verification process, including verification of U.S. citizenship. After the DOJ consented to the process, the State filed for and received administrative preclearance from the DOJ. The State and the DOJ therefore have now filed a joint request to have the lawsuit dismissed.

“After nearly two years, we can now verify that voter registration applicants are who they say they are and that they are U.S. citizens,” said Secretary Kemp. “When we filed the lawsuit, I was criticized by some because they believed it would be too time-consuming and expensive. However, after waiting for nearly a year and a half for a final administrative decision from the DOJ, I was certain that litigation was the only way to put Georgia in a position to obtain final approval from the federal government of our voter verification procedures. After the litigation was filed, it took less than two months for the DOJ to consent to preclearance of the verification process.”

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Georgia must obtain federal preclearance of any change affecting voting by bringing a declaratory judgment action in federal court or, in the alternative, by submitting the change to the DOJ for administrative preclearance. In October 2008, the Secretary of State’s Office first submitted the verification process to the DOJ for administrative preclearance. After extended administrative review and numerous discussions with representatives of the State, the DOJ denied administrative preclearance of the State’s voter verification process and later refused to withdraw that denial. During the administrative process, the State provided substantial amounts of information about its verification process, sometimes providing the same information several times.

In June of this year, Secretary Kemp announced that the State of Georgia filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the DOJ to obtain preclearance of the voter verification process. After the lawsuit was filed, the DOJ determined that the verification process did not have a discriminatory effect or purpose and expeditiously consented to the federal approval of the verification procedure. Georgia was previously the only state in the country barred from complying with the federal Help America Vote Act’s voter verification requirement.

Secretary Kemp added, “I am glad the DOJ ultimately recognized the importance of ensuring a secure elections process in Georgia and consented to the Section 5 approval of Georgia’s voter verification process. As Georgia’s Chief Elections Officer, my job is to ensure secure, fair, and accessible elections for every Georgia citizen who is eligible to vote. Every ballot cast by a non-citizen erases a ballot cast by an eligible Georgia voter.”

Under the Help America Vote Act, states are required to verify the information provided by first time voter registration applicants with information currently on file in state or federal databases. In Georgia, the applicant’s first name, last name, date of birth, driver’s license or identification number, last four digits of his or her Social Security number, and United States citizenship status are verified with the Department of Driver Services or Social Security Administration databases to ensure that the information matches.
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AIG Directors Sued to Force Immediate Return of Total Bonuses

/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Freedom Watch announced the filing of a class action lawsuit by shareholders of AIG to force the directors of the company to themselves pay back the millions in illicit bonuses, dividends and other perks they paid out to themselves and other officials who destroyed the company's financial standing.

The lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Los Angeles, is wide reaching and will accomplish what Congress cannot, given the patent illegality of its taxing scheme, which violates the U.S. Constitution as it would tax ex post facto and discriminately.

Larry Klayman, the Chairman and General Counsel of Freedom Watch, who represents the shareholders in their class action suit, issued this statement:

"Today, the American people, not the compromised ruling elite in Washington, D.C., have begun a second American Revolution to take the country back from the con men on Wall Street, and on Pennsylvania Avenue - who under successive administrations played a central role in the meltdown of the U.S. financial system and economy. Freedom Watch will not rest until justice is done and it won't come from the Obama administration, bent on deceiving the U.S. taxpayer that it intends to clean up this corruption, all the while lining the pockets of its friends at AIG with government bailout money, who gave handsomely to have the President elected."

The lawsuit also seeks to recover, from the directors, the losses of the shareholders of the last many months and years, as well as to make AIG whole under new leadership, without the use of government money.

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Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel Responds to Activist Lawsuit (to prevent verification of voter eligibility)

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court to prevent the Secretary of State from verifying the eligibility of voter registration applicants:

“On the same day that activist organizations filed a lawsuit in Georgia to prevent our state from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in our November 4 General Election, a federal judge has ruled that the Ohio Secretary of State must follow federal law and implement the exact same verification procedures.

“In fact, U.S. District Judge George C. Smith of Ohio stated, “It is hard to imagine a public interest more compelling than safeguarding the legitimacy of the election of the president of the United States.”

“The lawsuit filed in Georgia appears to be an orchestrated and well organized effort to dismantle our state’s identification laws and verification process. The safeguards we have in place help to ensure that only those applicants and voters who meet all eligibility factors are permitted to cast a ballot in our elections. Unfortunately, the organizations appear to want to open the door to allow non-citizens to register and vote in the General Election. If the plaintiff prevails, thousands of non-citizens in Georgia could be allowed to vote.

“The Georgia Secretary of State’s office and Georgia’s county registrars and election officials have an obligation to ensure that only U.S. citizens and Georgians who meet all the eligibility factors are allowed to register and vote. The process to verify an applicants’ eligibility to register and vote is required by federal law, and we have followed the law.

“Georgia’s county election officials still have over 100,000 voter registration applications to process. My office will continue its close work with our state’s county election officials to ensure that all applications are processed and verified, and that all preparations are in place for Election Day.

“I have a sworn duty to protect the integrity and security of our state’s elections, and will fight any attempt to breach Georgians’ trust in our electoral process.”


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