Silverstein Was Shielded From Liability by an Act of Congress

gretavo's picture
S.1447
Title: A bill to improve aviation security, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Hollings, Ernest F. [SC] (introduced 9/21/2001) Cosponsors (30)
Related Bills: H.RES.290H.R.2951H.R.3150
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 107-71 [GPO: Text, PDF]
Latest Conference Report: 107-296 (in Congressional Record H8262-8275)
Note: H.R. 2951 as introduced and S. 1447 as introduced were identical bills. The House subsequently substituted H.R. 3150, another aviation security bill, in S. 1447. Differences were resolved in conference. 
 

S.1447

Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)


TITLE II--LIABILITY LIMITATION

SEC. 201. AIR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY AND SYSTEM STABILIZATION ACT AMENDMENTS.

    (a) RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL SOURCE OBLIGATIONS OF TERRORISTS- Section 405(c)(3)(B)(i) of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended by striking `obligations.' and inserting `obligations, or to a civil action against any person who is a knowing participant in any conspiracy to hijack any aircraft or commit any terrorist act.'.
    (b) EXTENSION OF LIABILITY RELIEF TO AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS AND OTHERS- Section 408 of that Act is amended--
  •  
      (1) by striking `air carrier' in the section heading;
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      (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    `(a) IN GENERAL-
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      `(1) LIABILITY LIMITED TO INSURANCE COVERAGE- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity, arising from the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, against an air carrier, aircraft manufacturer, airport sponsor, or person with a property interest in the World Trade Center , on September 11, 2001, whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, direct or indirect, or their directors, officers, employees, or agents, shall not be in an amount greater than the limits of liability insurance coverage maintained by that air carrier, aircraft manufacturer, airport sponsor, or person.
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      `(2) WILLFUL DEFAULTS ON REBUILDING OBLIGATION- Paragraph (1) does not apply to any such person with a property interest in the World Trade Center if the Attorney General determines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, that the person has defaulted willfully on a contractual obligation to rebuild, or assist in the rebuilding of, the World Trade Center .
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      `(3) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY FOR NEW YORK CITY- Liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity arising from the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, against the City of New York shall not exceed the greater of the city's insurance coverage or $350,000,000. If a claimant who is eligible to seek compensation under section 405 of this Act, submits a claim under section 405, the claimant waives the right to file a civil action (or to be a party to an action) in any Federal or State court for damages sustained as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, including any such action against the City of New York. The preceding sentence does not apply to a civil action to recover collateral source obligations.'; and
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      (3) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the following: `Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to civil actions to recover collateral source obligations. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit any liability of any person who is engaged in the business of providing air transportation security and who is not an airline or airport sponsor or director, officer, or employee of an airline or airport sponsor.'.
    (c) LIMITATION OF UNITED STATES SUBROGATION RIGHT- Section 409 of that Act is amended by striking `title.' and inserting `title, subject to the limitations described in section 408.'.
    (d) DEFINITIONS- Section 402 of that Act is amended--
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      (1) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the following: `The term `air carrier' does not include a person, other than an air carrier, engaged in the business of providing air transportation security.'.
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      (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (8) as paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively; and
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      (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
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      `(3) AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER- The term `aircraft manufacturer' means any entity that manufactured the aircraft or any parts or components of the aircraft involved in the terrorist related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, including employees and agents of that entity.
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      `(4) AIRPORT SPONSOR- The term `airport sponsor' means the owner or operator of an airport (as defined in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code).'.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

 

http://thomas.loc.gov/

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gretavo's picture

NYU Law's critique of "Air Transportation Security" Act

Lifted from Nor Cal Truth's post at 911b:

 

The New York School of Law critiqued the Act and this specific provision expansively, notably they state:

On September 22, 2001, after only two hours
of debate and less than two days of hearings, both the House and the
Senate passed the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act
(“ATSSSA” or “Act”).The Act was introduced September 14, 2001, as an
immediate legislative solution to what seemed to be the imminent
liquidation of the airline industry. Three days earlier the Federal
Aviation Agency (“FAA”) had grounded all airplanes and closed down the
airspace above the United States for over twenty-four hours in response
to the attacks on the World Trade Center (“WTC”) and the Pentagon….On
Thursday night, September 20, ranking members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee added a last-minute Victim Compensation Fund 5 (“VCF” or “Fund”) to the Act.

….In order to receive compensation, however,
victims are required to waive all rights to file a civil action in any
court for damages sustained as a result of the September 11 attacks
.
As an alternative for those who choose not to participate in the Fund,
the Act establishes an exclusive cause of action for all claims “arising
out of the hijacking and subsequent crashes” of September 11, limiting
potential plaintiffs to exclusive federal jurisdiction in the Southern
District of New York. Additionally, the cause
of action provision mandates the application of the substantive law of
the state in which the crash associated with the victim occurred.
Importantly, Title IV of the Act establishes a liability cap on behalf
of the airline industry, limiting any tort recovery against the airlines
for damages sustained as a result of the events of September 11 to the
maximum level of insurance coverage held by the airlines before the
disaster. The amount of the insurance policies held by American and
United Airlines for such terrorist-related incidents is estimated to be
approximately $1.5 billion per plane, resulting in a total of $6 billion
in accessible funds for those seeking remedies against the airlines in
tort….

…Congress has never before established this type of
direct compensation to victims of a national disaster or any other type
of mass tort. Congress has never before offered compensation contingent upon complete abdication of the right to sue in a court of law.
Most importantly, Congress has never before done this in conjunction
with a retroactive liability cap limiting victims’ tort recovery as well
as a jurisdictional limitation on both the location and the type of
court in which a plaintiff may sue…

(Download full PDF here)