Mitigating airport terrorism tort liabilities through the US SAFETY Act

Abstract

The SAFETY Act 2002 is a landmark federal statute that substantially mitigates or eliminates catastrophic tort liability in lawsuits filed in the USA arising out of terrorist attacks. Such liability is real: the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey was recently found 68 per cent liable for the injuries to and death of individuals arising out of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing for failing to implement recommendations on how to lessen the impact of a terrorist attack in the World Trade Center's underground garage. SAFETY Act coverage awards and recent pronouncements by the Department of Homeland Security, which implements the SAFETY Act, signal that such protection should be available for airports and other similarly situated quasi-governmental entities. This paper examines the potential opportunity for airport authorities and owners to obtain significant tort liability protection under the SAFETY Act, to the extent they would otherwise be liable for catastrophic damages arising out of a terrorist attack.