Dispute over WTC insurance payment in court
From Chris Strathmann
CNN
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Two hijacked airplanes reduced the twin towers of the World Trade Center to rubble.
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A courtroom battle between the leaseholder on the World Trade Center and his insurers will help settle a dispute about the fate of almost $4 billion in insurance payments stemming from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In opening statements Monday before the U.S. District Court, lawyers for the Swiss Reinsurance Co. and other insurers argued that under a pre-September 11 insurance contract, the attack that destroyed the twin towers was one event, requiring the companies to cover $3.5 billion in damages.
But lawyers for WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstein claimed the insurers consented to a different insurance contract which leaves open the question of whether the attack was one or two events. Silverstein's attorneys contend he is due $7 billion for two separate events.
The question is muddy because Silverstein signed the lease in July 2001, and both sides were under a "binder," or temporary insurance contract, two months later.
Silverstein had signed the WilProp binder, drafted by his insurance broker, which both sides agree classifies the attacks as a single event.
Monday, Silverstein's attorney said the two sides later agreed verbally to switch to a binder issued by the Travelers Corporation, leaving open the question of whether the attack was one event or two.
"They are trying to rewrite history," Silverstein attorney Herb Wachtell said of the insurers' claim that the WilProp binder was still in effect.
But the insurers said Silverstein's own risk management assessor acknowledged on September 12, 2001, that the WilProp binder was operative.
The current trial, expected to last about eight weeks, will decide only which binder governed dealings between Silverstein and his insurers. If the jury decides that the Travelers binder was in effect, another trial would be held to determine whether the September 11 attacks was one or two events, and the amount of payments owed to Silverstein.
