This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Judge Rules on 9 / 11 Airline Suits September 19, 2002 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 8:09 p.m. ET NEW YORK (AP) -- Families of those who died or were injured in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks cannot sue airlines and airport security companies anonymously because of the high public interest in the disaster, a federal judge ruled Thursday. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein cut short the oral arguments of a lawyer for 10 families seeking to press their claims anonymously after noting that the families could keep their identities secret by joining the federal Victim Compensation Fund. The fund set up by the government requires participants to give up their rights to sue airlines used in the attack and other entities but allows them to sue terrorists. ``If your client wants confidentiality -- doesn't want to be in the public eye -- maybe your client should reconsider their position,'' Hellerstein said. Attorney John A. Greaves said about 10 families sought anonymity in lawsuits against the airlines, airports and security companies because they feared for their personal safety. ``The courthouse is public and there is a great incentive to be public. We have to account for ourselves,'' Hellerstein told Greaves. The judge said there was an ``overriding public interest'' in letting people know all the facts involved in lawsuits stemming from the terrorist attacks. The ruling came after a lawyer for The New York Times sent a letter to the judge saying there was no legal reason to let the families proceed anonymously. Greaves said outside court that his clients were not distinguishable from hundreds of other families who lost relatives in the attacks other than their heightened fears for personal safety. The lawyer said families also were worried that losing anonymity would increase chances they would be asked to testify against Zacarias Moussaoui, who is representing himself against charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism in the Sept. 11 attacks. Prosecutors have said they will call family members of victims to testify if the trial set for January in Alexandria, Va., reaches a penalty phase. Greaves said the families also did not want to be ``looked at as bad guys or as outsiders because we want to vindicate our rights.'' http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Attacks-Lawsuits.html?ex=1033526610&ei=1&en=c14d60214647d219 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company