Westfield America Trust to appeal WTC court ruling

Following the summary judgments delivered last week by the Federal District Court in New York ruling that three of the insurance carriers had provided coverage under the 'Wilprop' form and are limited to only one occurrence, an affiliate of the Trust, in conjunction with Silverstein Properties Inc. and the Port Authority, have accepted the CourtÂ's suggestion that they pursue expedited appeals of the CourtÂ's rulings. As a consequence, the trial of the case, previously scheduled for hearing in mid-November, will now be deferred pending a decision by the United States Court of Appeals.

Judge Martin has indicated that he is willing to endorse an appeal on the legal question as to whether the events of September 11 constitute one or two occurrences under the Travelers Insurance policy form. Judge Martin also indicated that once the legal issues governing coverage were determined on appeal, he would be willing to commence the trial promptly.

The Trust believes that an expedited appeal of these issues will advance the final resolution of the insurance claim. The Trust reiterates that it remains confident that the property insurance policies are adequate to protect its investment and to reimburse it for expected business interruption losses due to the terrorist attacks.

(source: Westfield)

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