The decision allowed plaintiffs to proceed with lawsuits worth potentially millions of dollars for damages against the agency. Port authority spokesman Steve Coleman says the agency is in the process of preparing an appeal.
A crucial factor in the jurys decision was a 1985 security report that recommended the agency close its underground parking garage to the public, use guards and conduct random searches. "The jury...apparently determined that the 1993 bombing was foreseeable and preventable because a 1985 security report warned of the possibility of such an attack," notes Daniel J. Ansell, a lawyer and chairman of real estate operations for local firm Greenberg Traurig LLP. "Accordingly, property owners face a dilemma in determining how to respond to security recommendations, because failure to implement such recommendationsregardless of cost or inconveniencecould result in substantial liability."