Opinion ID: 2512475
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether ATSSSA's Liability Limits Create a Limited Fund

Text: The WTCP Plaintiffs' claim that ATSSSA created a limited fund, preempting New York's first-come, first-served settlement rule, is without merit. In a section entitled Limitation on liability, ATSSSA specifies that liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity, against the Aviation Defendants shall not be in an amount greater than the limits of liability insurance coverage maintained by the Aviation Defendants. ATSSSA § 408(a)(1). We have repeatedly made clear that this provisionfar from creating a fund for the payment of claimsinstead caps tort liability stemming from the attacks at `the limits of the liability insurance coverage maintained by the [Aviation Defendants].' Schneider v. Feinberg, 345 F.3d 135, 139 (2d Cir.2003) (per curiam) (quoting ATSSSA § 408(a)); see also In re WTC Disaster Site, 414 F.3d at 373 (noting that a principal component[ ] of ATSSSA was the limitation of the airlines' liability for damages sustained as a result of those crashes (emphasis added)); Canada Life, 335 F.3d at 55 (noting that § 408(a) limits the liability for the events of September 11 of the Aviation Defendants). A primary purpose of ATSSSA, as we have noted, was to preserve the continued viability of the United States air transportation system from potentially ruinous tort liability in the wake of the attacks. Schneider, 345 F.3d at 139 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also In re WTC Disaster Site, 414 F.3d at 377 (observing that a principal goal[ ] was to limit the liability of entities that were likely to be sued for injuries suffered in connection with the crashes); Canada Life, 335 F.3d at 55 (finding that a general purpose of ATSSSA was to protect the airline industry and other potentially liable entities from financially fatal liabilities). Nothing in ATSSSA's text suggests that Congress intended to create a limited fund from which plaintiffs bringing a federal cause of action under ATSSSA against the Aviation Defendants are entitled to an equitable share. To the contrary, various provisions of the statute concern the administration of, and eligibility regarding, a Victim Compensation Fund for individuals willing to waive such a cause of action pursuant to § 408(b). See ATSSSA §§ 404-06. And Congress provided explicitly for the treatment of certain other claims involving other defendants, specifying, for instance, the funds from which debris removal claims were to be paid, and the manner in which settlements or judgments were to be treated. See ATSSSA § 408(a)(5) (Payments to plaintiffs who obtain a settlement or judgment with respect to a claim or action to which paragraph (4) [(debris removal actions)] applies, shall be paid solely from the following funds in the following order.). Had Congress intended to create a limited fund for those plaintiffs pursuing an ATSSSA cause of action against the Aviation Defendants, and to constrain the manner in which settlements could be made, it would have done so in far more explicit terms.