A 9/11 lawsuit against United Airlines was rejected as a judge ruled that the airline is not responsible for the hijacking of an American Airlines flight or the collapse of a smaller World Trade Center building during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder of the World Trade Center property, filed a negligence claim against United Airlines, saying that they should be liable for the loss of his property. However a judge rejected the lawsuit, saying that United was not responsible for the collapse of 7 World Trade because the airline had no connection to the events on 9/11 or the hijackers, according to the Associated Press.
Silverstein properties argued that United was responsible because they operate a security checkpoint in Portland, Maine, where the hijackers were screened before their flights that morning. However all of the passengers were screened at the security checkpoint.
On the morning of 9/11, terrorists Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari boarded a Colgan Air flight that was headed to Boston from Portland International Airport. They were screened in Portland and then caught their connecting flight, American Airlines Flight 11, in Boston. They then used the plane as a weapon to take down the north tower of the World Trade Center. The crash also affected 7 World Trade Center, causing fired to erupt. The building fell several hours later.
United was just one of many airlines that were sued by Silverstein properties, saying that they were responsible for the building's collapse.
The judge ruled that there was no way United could have known that the intricate series of events, starting at the United operated security checkpoint in Portland, would have led to the collapse of 7 World Trade. "United had no connection to Flight 11 or its hijackers," the judge said, according to the Associated Press. He said that United wasn't responsible for the tickets, passenger check-in or boarding for the American Airlines flight which was used in the attacks.
Silverstein, who wanted $8.4 billion in damages, is disappointed by the ruling, but they won't back down just yet. They still have another lawsuit against United over security issues that led 9/11 terrorists to hijack United Flight 175.
"We are determined and look forward to presenting the facts before a jury, which will decide whether the defendants' insurance companies should finally be forced to pay up in order to finish the rebuilding of the World Trade Center," Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Silverstein Properties told AP.
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