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By Gail Appleson
NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors will argue in court on Friday
that the government should be able to block the families of Sept. 11 victims
from obtaining sensitive airline information in wrongful death suits
alleging inadequate security.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein scheduled the hearing to consider the
unusual request by the U.S. government to intervene in private litigation
against UAL Corp's (UAL) United Airlines and AMR Corp's (AMR) American
Airlines that was filed by plaintiffs whose relatives were killed in the
attacks on America.
Hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center, destroying the
landmark twin towers. A third plane slammed into the Pentagon and a fourth
plane, also believed headed for Washington, crashed in Pennsylvania. About
3,000 people were killed in the attacks.
The airlines have been named in at least 10 wrongful death suits that have
been consolidated before Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
In a letter filed with the judge, officials from the Justice Department in
Washington and the Manhattan U.S. attorney said they want to make sure
information that poses a security risk is not disclosed to the plaintiffs
during their pretrial search for information, known as discovery.
"The possibility that a haphazard discovery process could result in the
unauthorized release of sensitive security information creates an
unacceptable risk to the traveling public and to the national security," the
letter said.
The government is representing the Transportation Security Agency (TSA),
which is part of the Department of Transportation. The TSA assumed
responsibility for national aviation security on Feb. 22, 2002. Its
responsibilities include prohibiting the disclosure of "sensitive security
information."
United Airlines lawyers also said in a letter to the judge that it objects
to releasing certain information to the plaintiffs because it believes the
subject matter would be considered "sensitive" under federal law.
It said that plaintiffs' lawyers "have candidly admitted that they are not
yet able to provide specific information with respect to the manner in which
United and/or any other party allegedly violated its security obligations.
The airline said that even its lawyers have been unable to get certain
details about the Sept. 11 attacks because the federal government will not
release "basic information" obtained in its probe.
The first case against the airlines stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks was
filed on Dec. 20 by the widow of a passenger on the hijacked United Airlines
flight that slammed into the World Trade Center.
The suit alleges that United breached its duty to care for the safety of the
passengers on Flight 175. It was filed by Ellen Mariani of New Hampshire,
whose husband Louis was killed in the attack.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
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