Why in the hell would ANYONE get a settlement unless they were suing al-Qaeda ??? The only "fault" or action lies with them.....
Talk about drinkin' kool-aid !!!!!!! On Mar 20, 1:12 pm, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > Originally published 12:05 a.m., March 20, 2010, updated 12:30 > a.m., March 20, 2010 > > Judge rejects settlement for 9/11 rescuers > > ASSOCIATED PRESS > > NEW YORK | A federal judge on Friday rejected a legal settlement that > would have given at least $575 million to people sickened by ash and > dust from the World Trade Center, saying the deal shortchanged 10,000 > ground zero workers whom he called heroes. > > "In my judgment, this settlement is not enough," said U.S. District > Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who delivered his pronouncement to a stunned > gallery at a federal courthouse in Manhattan. > > Rising from his chair, the 76-year-old jurist said he feared police > officers, firefighters and other laborers who cleared rubble after the > Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks were being pushed into signing a deal few > of them understood. > > Under the terms of the settlement, workers had been given just 90 days > to say yes or no to a deal that would have assigned them payments based > on a point system that Hellerstein said was complicated enough to make a > Talmudic scholar's head spin. > > "I will not preside over a settlement that is based on fear or > ignorance," he said. > > Of the proposed settlement of $575 million to $657 million, workers > stood to get amounts ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 > million. > > Hellerstein said the deal should be richer. Too much of it would be > eaten up by legal fees, he said. > > A third or more of the money set aside for the workers was expected to > go to their lawyers. Some plaintiffs had agreed at the start of the case > to give as much as 40 percent of any judgment to cover fees and > expenses. That might have meant $200 million or more going to attorneys. > > Hellerstein, who presides over all federal court litigation related to > the terror attacks, ripped into the agreement after hearing several > ground zero responders speak tearfully of their illnesses and after > receiving letters and phone calls from others expressing confusion about > the deal. > > He said he was speaking "from the heart" out of great compassion for the > thousands of men and women who spent time at ground zero. > > It wasn't immediately clear whether the judge's actions would kill the > settlement entirely. > > The deal had taken years to negotiate and was announced March 11, with > about two months to go until the first trials. > > A spokeswoman for the law partnership that negotiated the settlement on > behalf of the workers said she had no comment on the judge's remarks. > > Christine LaSala, president of the WTC Captive Insurance Co., a special > insurance entity created by Congress to represent the city in the > lawsuit, said the judge "has now made it more difficult, if not > impossible, for the people bringing these claims to obtain compensation > and a settlement." > > She said the lawyers would confer with city officials and "try to find a > way forward." > > New York City's chief lawyer, Michael Cardozo, said, "We have great > respect for Judge Hellerstein and will consider his comments, but his > reaction to the settlement will make it extremely difficult to resolve > these cases." > > Hellerstein laid out a number of proposed fixes for what he saw as > deficiencies in the settlement and told the two sides to resume > negotiations. > > He rejected the idea that a third or more of the money should go to the > plaintiffs' lawyers and said the legal fees should be paid by the WTC > Captive, not the workers. > > Hellerstein said workers should have ample opportunities to ask > questions and get answers about the settlement, and he offered to go on > a mini-speaking tour to get information to the plaintiffs. > > "I will make myself available in union halls, fire department houses, > police precincts and schools," Hellerstein said. > > He said more money should be set aside for people who later develop > cancer that may be linked to ground zero toxins. He said he wanted to > retain ultimate control over which workers were entitled to have claims > paid. > > Hellerstein acknowledged that he felt a personal connection to the case, > calling it "the greatest burden in my life," but insisted that his > unusual intervention was legally and morally necessary, given the > importance of the Sept. 11 attacks to the country. > > "This is no ego trip for me. This is work," he said. > > Hellerstein spoke after several ground zero recovery workers had risen > in court to describe a litany of health problems they believe are linked > to inhaling the ash and dust left by the collapse of the World Trade > Center. > > The settlement rejected by the judge would have created a pool of at > least $575 million for sick workers. That amount could rise to as much > as $657 million if enough people accept the deal. Injured workers would > get a payment in exchange for dropping their suits against New York City > and the dozens of construction contractors it hired to handle the cleanup. > > Money for the settlement would be funded with nearly $1 billion in > federal taxpayer money that has already been appropriated. > > The deal covers a broad list of ailments suspected of being linked to > trade center dust, including asthma, chronic coughing and interstitial > lung disease, which involves scarring of lung tissue. Some types of > cancer are also covered. > > For the plaintiffs with relatively minor ailments, payments would have > ranged from $3,250 to $9,760. William Groner, an attorney on the team > that negotiated the settlement, estimated that 40 percent to 60 percent > of the workers would fall into that category. > > The rest were to have divided the remaining millions in the pot, with a > handful of the sickest getting $1 million or more. The amount they got > would have been based on a complicated scoring system that ranks each > illness by severity. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to politicalforum+unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE ME" as the subject.
