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Here we go...lawsuit #1

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FL000

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 26, 2001
Posts
1,577
I've never been a litigious person, having always believed that lawyers who use shotgun-effect, frivolous lawsuits are leeches on the economy and detrimental to society. However, I'm on the fence here. On one hand, I feel that there is but one person ultimately responsible for the 9-11 tragedy, and to seek retribution from anyone else is absurd. On the other hand, for decades airlines have fought most advanced screening systems and technology (not to mention qualified security) with the argument that they are cumbersome on their schedules and bottom lines. Though no one deserves what happened on that day, perhaps the airlines left the door wide open. Pipe in and help me fall off the fence!

United Sued for WTC Hijacking Attack

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The widow of a New Hampshire man who was a passenger on the United Air Lines flight that slammed into the World Trade Center filed on Thursday what is believed to be the first suit against an airline stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks.

The wrongful death suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that United breached its duty to care for the safety of the passengers on Flight 175. The suit filed by Ellen Mariani, whose husband, Louis, was killed in the attack, seeks unspecified damages.

The Nolan Law Group, the Chicago firm that filed the suit, said it believed this was the first action against an airline seeking to hold it liable for the hijacking.

Louis Mariani, a 59-year-old retired sales coordinator at H.P. Hood, died when the plane hit Tower Number Two of the World Trade Center. The suit alleged that he suffered severe fright and terror before dying in the crash.

A spokesman for United said the airline does not comment on pending litigation.
 
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I think United and American should not be held liable for any wrongful deaths, as the US government has made it impossible for us to defend ourselves against terrorist hijackers. They have disarmed us, and just as the subjects in the UK and the citizens of Australia have found out, gun control only hurts innocent people, not the criminals.
 
No amount of money is going to bring her husband back, but it might be a good opportunity for her to dig for some gold. Sure the airlines were negligent, but so was the rest of the country. I think most people got comfort out of the fact that our country came together so well after the attacks, now people like this are the ones that will push us back apart. The thing that I thought was cool also was that nobody was really pointing fingers at eachother when this happened, instead we finally decided to kick some ass. Hopefully this isn't the first of hundreds of lawsuits pointed at the airlines, but it probably will be.
 
Totally legal

It must be remembered that these guys were totally legal paying passengers who utilized nothing more than intent and items that were legal/
While the box cutters may not be acceptable today, they would have come up with something that was legal even under todays tighter security as weapons.
As other countries have found out, it is impossible to protect against those who would die for the cause. Can the bus companies in Israel be accountable for the safety of someone who is at a bus stop wired with explosives.
 
The woman suing United is probably the same woman that threw a screaming hissy fit in security because her carry on was too big (pre-September 11th). Americans opened the door for this to happen because we didn't want to be inconvienenced in the least. Ultimate freedom needs ultimate responsibility. The question is how much freedom are we willing to give up in the name of security. I was at ORD September 16th and there were already people b!tching about delayed flights...I just don't get it.
 
If she should sue anyone it should be the FAA. They are the ones that impose the regulations as far as security goes- the airlines just follow suit. The federal government has always been re-active in their policies and reasoning and usually only act proactive once something catastrophic has occured.

That's proven in that the new security matters are to prevent the same situtaion as 911, not new ways that terrorist may attack next time- if there's a next time.

Now that there is one suit filed there will sure to be many more to follow. Like the airlines need something else to worry about financially.

Maybe the Stimulus Package the Senate and Congress are arguing about will free the Airlines from fault in the courts. Yeah right.
 
Just imagine the lawsuit that would have been filed if UAL had denied boarding to the 4-5 middle-eastern men because they looked suspicious?!?!?!?!?!

THAT would have made headlines.
 
Well, I am with all those who believe that the airlines are not the ones who should be sued in this case. It has been the federal government (go figure). The FAA and DOT mandated tighter security measures for airlines years ago, but as soon as the big boys started bitching and whining about the cost of implementing those measures, the government backed off. Had the government held fast, maybe we wouldnt be racing the clock trying to fix security problems that should not even be a concern in this day and age. It is a funny thing to me that an airline such as El Aal, in a country such as Israel, is more secure than the airlines that operate in what is supposed to be the most technologically advanced country in the world, the good old USA. Lets put the blame for lax security squarely where it needs to be.
 
Israel

Trust me, we don't want security like El Al....
 

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