Opinion ID: 2602113
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

Text: {3} The Fund was created as part of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (Air Stabilization Act), 49 U.S.C. § 40101 (2001), enacted by Congress to provide compensation for those injured or killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Individual claimants were afforded an opportunity to receive an award from the Fund, thereby waiving their right to file civil actions for damages related to the events of September 11, 2001, except to recover collateral source obligations, such as insurance, or to pursue actions against the terrorists responsible for the attacks. Air Stabilization Act, 115 Stat. 240 § 405(c)(3)(B)(i) (2001). {4} In the case of a person who was killed in the attacks, the Air Stabilization Act designated the Personal Representative of the Estate as the sole eligible claimant. 28 C.F.R. §§ 104.2(a)(2)-(3), 104.4 (2008). After appointment as Personal Representative by a court of competent jurisdiction, the claimant had to provide written notice of the claim to beneficiaries and interested parties to the Estate. 28 C.F.R. § 104.4(b). Upon receipt of a Fund award, and absent an agreed upon distribution plan between the beneficiaries of the award, the Personal Representative was legally obligated to distribute the award according to the law of the decedent's domicile or any applicable state court rulings. 28 C.F.R. § 104.52 (2008). {5} A Special Master appointed by the United States Attorney General oversaw the implementation of the Fund and determined the amounts to be awarded to claimants based upon the harm to the claimant, the facts of the claim, and the individual circumstances of the claimant. Air Stabilization Act, 115 Stat. 237-38 § 404(a) (2001); § 405(b)(1)(B)(i)-(ii). Fund awards included damages for both economic and non-economic losses. Id., 115 Stat. 238 § 405(b)(1)(B)(I). {6} Economic loss, defined as any pecuniary loss resulting from harm, id. § 402(5), was calculated through a methodology that took into account anticipated lost benefits such as income and earnings. 28 C.F.R. § 104.43(a) (2008). Non-economic damages were defined as losses for physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium ... and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. Air Stabilization Act, 115 Stat. 237 § 402(7) (2001). Because of the inherent difficulty in determining non-economic losses for individual claimants, the regulations designated uniform non-economic loss awards of $250,000 for the Estate of the decedent and $100,000 for the spouse and each dependent of the victim. 67 Fed. Reg. 11,233, 11,239 (Mar. 13, 2002); 28 C.F.R. § 104.44 (2008). The Special Master could deviate from such presumed non-economic loss amounts in extraordinary circumstances. 28 C.F.R. §§ 104.31(b)(2), 104.33(f)(2) (2008). {7} The Fund was remarkable for its efforts to guarantee substantial compensation, as opposed to just minimal assistance, for victims of the September 11th attacks. See generally Kenneth S. Abraham & Kyle D. Logue, The Genie and the Bottle: Collateral Sources Under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, 53 De Paul L.Rev. 591, 594 (Winter 2003). However, there was also a concern to avoid over-compensation. See id. at 597-98. Important to this appeal, Congress required the Special Master to reduce a claimant's total award by the amount of the collateral source compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive. Air Stabilization Act, 115 Stat. 239 § 405(b)(6). Collateral source compensation included life insurance proceeds, pension funds, and other death benefits programs. 28 C.F.R. § 104.47(a) (2008). {8} After the Special Master determined the amount to be awarded on a given claim, he would send a letter to the Personal Representative detailing the final award determination. The letter broke down the various components of the award, specified the collateral offsets and beneficiaries to whom those offsets were attributable, and provided other information to guide the Personal Representative in distributing the award according to the law of the decedent's domicile. 28 C.F.R. § 104.52. The Special Master's award determinations were final and not subject to judicial review. Air Stabilization Act, 115 Stat. 238-39 § 405(b)(3).