Posted on 10/26/2005 3:21:25 PM PDT by SmithL
NEW YORK - A jury ruled Wednesday that the Port Authority was negligent in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 - a long-awaited legal victory for victims of an attack that killed six people and wounded 1,000.
The six-person jury ruled that the Port Authority, the agency that owned the World Trade Center, was negligent by not properly maintaining the parking garage, where terrorists detonated more than a half-ton of explosives in a Ryder van. It said the negligence was a "substantial factor" in the allowing the bombing to occur.
The jury took just one day to reach its verdict. Several separate trials will now be held to determine money damages.
The trial cast the spotlight on an attack that was overshadowed after Sept. 11, but was horrific nonetheless. The noontime blast blew a gigantic crater in the garage, filled the building with smoke, wrecked the towers' power and emergency systems, and spread fear across New York.
The verdict came after almost 12 years of legal delays in the civil case. The Port Authority's last appeal, to try to get the case thrown out, was rejected last year, clearing the way for the trial.
During the trial, lead plaintiff lawyer David J. Dean argued the Port Authority failed to take steps to prevent the bombing because it was inconvenient and would have cost too much. Dean said that the Port Authority's own security officials, in a report released in 1985, warned that the 400-slot garage was a likely attack site.
"It was almost as though they had a crystal ball," he said.
But Port Authority lawyer Marc Kasowitz said it was "offensive" to suggest the agency chose profits over safety. He said 3,000 of the Port Authority's own employees, which the agency considered "family," worked at the site in 1993.
And he said that nothing would have deterred resourceful terrorists - obsessed with bombing a building that was an icon of capitalism - from finding a way to unleash an attack.
"The plaintiffs want to blame the Port Authority for the murderous acts of fanatical terrorists who schemed for years and traveled thousands of miles" to carry out the attack, Kasowitz told the jury.
This is beyond ridiculous. What a disgrace.
Anyone who didn't think an agency with deep pockets was going to be found liable in this case was brain-dead.
The Port Authority was warned several years beforehand by the head of security for Dean Witter (Rick Rescorla) that the parking garage was the most vulnerable area of the WTC as far as terrorists because there was NO security there at all. He was told to mind his own business -- that the only areas of the WTC concerning him were the 22 floors that Dean Witter had in 2WTC plus what they had in 5WTC. The Port Authority deserves a great deal of the blame for not even doing the slightest bit of tightening up of security in that garage.
They should be filing suit against Clinton.
Too bad they can't sue the governments of the countries these murderers came from.
And there you have it. Terrorists don't have deep enough pockets for the attack lawyers.
Their governments do. And bin Laden's family does.
I'm surprised Ryder wasn't found partially liable because a Ryder truck was used to carry the explosives.
That's weird. I thought several Muslim men were responsible. Who knew.
"The Port Authority deserves a great deal of the blame for not even doing the slightest bit of tightening up of security in that garage."
Unless the tenants leases specifically provided for this kind of security, I don't see how they could be held liable. Brain dead and emotional juries will look for someone to blame, it gives them closure and the multimillion dollar award gives them satisfaction that they got "the man"...in their own little way.
everbody with a POS lawyer is suing for past wrongs-we could go back to the bible where the hebrews killed(untold numbers) and sue GOD-yeah the atheists would love that-hell we could sue the indians because they taught us about tobacco-get the money out of their gambling casinos-lets sue the gays didn't aids start spreading with them-lets sue mother nature she is the worst of all and then she can sue the sun for getting her to hot of course the sun will swear its the dinosuars fault for dying and leaving oil for some stupid idiot to use in a POS auto and then causing pollution
That would make a lot more sense.
I didin't know that the New York Port Authority was placing bombs out and about. sarcasm/off>
what kind of knuckleheads are they putting on juries, these days?????
they should NEVER have allowed this garbage into court - the lawyers and the judge need to be disbarred and sent to the front lines in IRAQ to let them appease their "Masters" over there.
As a survivor of the incident and someone keenly interested in it, I have found that the fault lies with the bombers, not the Port Authority. Thus I vote that we shoot the lawyers.
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