City off the hook in World Trade Center negligence lawsuit.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, dismissed--on the City's motion for summary judgment--a lawsuit brought by Consolidated Edison and its insurers claiming that the City had improperly designed and installed a fuel system for a backup electrical system to support its Office of Emergency Management Command Center on the 23rd floor of 7 World Trade Center.

That building was destroyed, along with the Twin Towers, in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Judge Hellerstein found that the City was immune from liability under New York State's Defense Emergency Act for its good-faith actions in planning and constructing its command center for civil defense preparedness.

"Although the design and construction of the backup generator system did not occur in the rush of an actual occurring catastrophe, the very point of having a carefully designed OEM and command center was to ensure that these emergency facilities would be in place and operating before a disaster occurred," the Court wrote in its decision.

"And when that is done, the municipality is immune from liability for negligence in relation to the maintenance and operation of such facilities."

Corporation counsel Michael A. Cardozo, of the New York City Law Department, hailed the decision as an important victory.

"Dismissal of the suit, alleging damages in the amount of approximately a quarter of a billion dollars, eliminates the last remaining property damage claim against the City arising out of the terrorist attacks. Most importantly, the City is now able to better plan for events like the Septermber 11th attack without being subject to liability based on hindsight. In light of the different catastrophic emergencies we have seen--both here and in New Orleans--the flexibility required to prepare and respond in innovative ways is critical and this ruling reaffirms the legislative precedent allowing the planners to do their jobs without being second guessed."

The City has consistently denied that its design and construction actions were improper, but it was not necessary to litigate that issue in light of the Court's ruling. The plaintiffs had claimed that the City was subject to ordinary negligence liability standards, pointing specifically to the allegedly negligent installation of a diesel fuel tank and fuel lines needed to supply the backup generator required to insure uninterrupted power for the Command Center during catastrophic emergencies. However, the Court found that the design and construction of the Command Center were executed in good faith within the scope of the City's civil defense functions under the Defense Emergency Act. Therefore, the City was entitled to immunity under the statute.