Defendants seek immunity in Ground Zero lawsuit

New York City, the Port Authority and other defendants in a massive federal lawsuit involving cleanup of the World Trade Center site are slated to file papers explaining why they believe they should be immune from the action.

The legal filings

The case involves the illnesses or deaths of about 9,000 people who worked in the toxic smoke and dust at the site.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case, said lawyers are now engaged in "intensive" negotiations to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by Ground Zero workers who claim they suffered injuries, according to a transcript released Friday. But Hellerstein said he is prepared to go to trial with a sample of 12 cases to test liability if a settlement is not reached.

Hellerstein is not expected to reach a decision for months.

He cautioned that settlement discussions are "fluid" and no result is certain or imminent.

"The settlement is complicated," he said. "I don't know what numbers have been discussed or what terms have been discussed or what a timetable will be. Like so many settlements, we'll have a settlement when we'll have a settlement or there will not be a settlement. And no one knows until it's all accomplished."

The 12 test cases that allege New York City, the Port Authority and various contractors failed to adequately warn and protect workers are scheduled for trial in May. The cases are to test the issue of how the injuries were caused, liability and damages common to many similar cases. The cases claim a variety of ailments were caused by toxic fumes at Ground Zero.

More than half of the cases involve police and firefighters, and many have been brought by Long Islanders. Lead lawyers for the plaintiffs and the defendants did not return calls for comment Tuesday.