Silverstein suffers setback.

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected Larry Silverstein's request for a summary judgment ruling on his disputed insurance claim. Silverstein maintains that the attacks constituted two separate events that require a $7 billion payout. The denial of a summary judgment request is common, according to legal sources.

Unless there is a settlement, the ruling guarantees that the insurance conflict will go to trial.

The New York Times last week identified Travelers Indemnity Company and 21 other insurers as being involved in the case. These firms maintain that the attack was a single event, insurable up to $3.54 billion.

Silverstein's spokesman said that the developer was disappointed, but he expects to win at trial. The Times reported that the lawyers for the insurers were pleased.

"If one looks at the intent of the parties, the result would be clear that the parties understood a terrorist attack was one occurrence, no matter how many weapons the terrorists chose to use," said Dewey Ballantine partner Saul Morgenstern, one of Travelers' attorneys, as quoted in the Times.

Two of the insurers have settled with Silverstein for a total of $365 million, according to the article.

Silverstein leased the World Trade Center last summer for $3.2 billion. Since Sept. 11, he has been waging a legal campaign against the building's insurers for the full $7 billion sum.

"This will certainly delay Silverstein's efforts. And there is the chance that a jury could find that it was one occurrence," said Aurora Cassirer, managing partner at Manhattan law firm Jenkins & Gilchrist Parker Chapin.

She said that the judge's decision suggested that the court is hoping that a settlement is reached. A trial date has been set for Sept. 3, but the insurers' attorneys are seeking a three-month delay.