Port Authority: "Today, We Have Victims Suing Victims."

On September 11, 2001, who was responsible for security checks at Boston's Logan International, Washington's Dulles Aiport and what is now Liberty Airport in New Jersey? Was it the airlines or the airports. That's an important question because it's at the center of a lawsuit filed by victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled Friday that the airports will remain as defendants in the lawsuit, where hundreds of terror victims' family members say both the airports and the airlines are liable for damages.

"Today we have victims suing victims," said Richard Williams, a lawyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, quoted in New York Newsday. His governmental organization is also named as a defendant - a point emphasized when Judge Hellerstein interrupted Williams. The plaintiffs are suing the Port Authority, owner of the World Trade Center, alleging inadequate fireproofing and insufficient evacuation routes in the twin towers.

"Anyone building from this day forward would be responsible for building an impregnable fortress," Williamson said. The lawsuit continues its speed-of-sludge progress through the courts.

FMI: www.panynj.gov