Judge Limits Sept. 11 Award from Airline

A federal judge has limited the damages that can be awarded to financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald as part of its lawsuit against American Airlines stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks, according to court documents released Wednesday.

Cantor Fitzgerald was housed on the top five floors of the first of the twin towers to be struck, in this case by American Airlines Flight 11 after it was hijacked in 2001. The company lost 658 of nearly 1,000 local employees in the attack.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that “as a matter of law, Cantor Fitzgerald’s claim for damages, however theorized, may not include claims for lost profits resulting from the deaths of, and injuries to, its officers and employees on September 11,” court documents state.

In May 2010, Cantor Fitzgerald — which initially sought $102.5 million in damages — amended its claim to nearly $1 billion to account for lost profits from its deceased employees.

Cantor Fitzgerald has until Feb. 28 to file an amended claim reflecting the judge’s decision.

No trial date has yet been set for the remaining claims.

(Reporting by Bernd Debusmann Jr.; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Sandra Maler)