They decided they’d take money rather than get information. And it’s a debatable question if a trial would have produced greater accountability of the airlines…. [The potential loss of public information] pales in my mind with the fact that the people who were suing for money got their money.
— Judge Alvin Hellerstein (S.D.N.Y.), speaking to Ben Weiser of the New York Times about successfully shepherding almost 100 wrongful-death cases arising out of 9/11 to confidential settlements.
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(It’s rare for a sitting federal judge to discuss cases he has handled, but Judge Hellerstein also spoke about the 9/11 litigation when interviewed by Joel Cohen for Blindfolds Off: Judges On How They Decide (affiliate link).)
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].