Court Opinion

ID: 9798321
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:49:57.515905+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:02:25.787872
License: Public Domain

WESLEY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
Plaintiffs’ experts have articulated a standard of care: high-rise buildings must be built to withstand a fire that cannot be extinguished by the efforts of firefighters. Plaintiffs’ experts have also identified a deviation from that standard: the building was designed and erected in such a way that it was subject to failure if a fire broke out that could not be quelled. They have tied that standard and its deviation to the injury for which they seek recompense. *181Lastly, plaintiffs’ experts have offered opinions that 7WTC did not collapse as a result of structural damage from falling debris.
One would think that, on this record, the majority, would want to hear from defendants’ experts on why 7WTC collapsed. It may well be that causation, be it proximate or in fact, can be decided as a matter of law in the district court after a careful review of all expert submissions or that a trial will result in a defendants’ verdict, but that is not the path the majority has chosen for this case. I would remand the matter to the district court for trial. I, therefore, respectfully dissent.