9-11 Judge Doesn’t Regret Lack Of Civil Trials

The judge who helped ensure that scores of 9-11 victims’ families received settlements – rather than taking suits to a jury – says he has no regrets. Settlements became more important to the 96 plaintiffs than “getting information and promoting accountability of airlines,” said Manhattan’s Federal District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who oversaw the cases. In his first interview about the wrongful death cases and settlements, Hellerstein told the New York Times that the plaintiffs “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 families received about $7 billion. But Hellerstein acknowledged that not holding a trial means there was a “loss of information” to the public. “It pales in my mind with the fact that the people who were suing for money got their money,” he said.