JURIST - Paper Chase: World Trade Center attacks one occurrence for insurance purposes, jury finds

A jury handed World Trade Center leaseholder Larry A. Silverstein a major setback in his legal battle with insurers over money for rebuilding at the World Trade Center site. The federal jury cut about $1 billion of the potential liability of eight insurers, finding that a temporary policy limited the destruction of the twin towers to one occurrence. The jury decided that three other insurers may be liable for double payments on $176 million in coverage. The verdict is still out, literally, on the potential liability of Swiss Re International Business Insurance Company Ltd., which would owe Silverstein $877.5 million for a single occurrence. Jurors were urged by US District Court Southern District of New York Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey to deliberate with renewed intensity late Thursday. The New York Times provides this report. New York Law Journal has more.