London Fischer LLP, headed by partner John E. Sparling, senior associate Christopher Ruggiero and a team of junior associates, was appointed "Steering Committee Counsel" in the mass tort litigation entitled: In re World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation , with over 10,000 plaintiffs surrounding the cleanup of the 9/11 disaster in 2001. The London Fischer team has played a critical role since that time in effectuating the defense and settlement strategy of Turner Construction Company, one of the four prime contractors that helped the City clean up and overcome the 9/11 disaster in its time of need. This work by the London Fischer team along with the WTC Captive and the entire WTC defense team ultimately facilitated the execution of the global $712 million dollar settlement agreement after over 2 years of negotiations and 7 years of hard-fought litigation. The agreement included the overwhelming majority of the police officer, firefighter, sanitation and construction worker plaintiffs. The settlement was found to be fair and reasonable and in the best interests of the parties by the United States District Court in its June 23, 2010 order.
Plaintiffs originally filed over 10,000 complaints against the City of New York, Turner and many other contractor defendants alleging that on and after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Plaintiffs sustained personal injuries as a result of, among other things, exposure to hazardous substances while participating in the rescue and recovery operations at Ground Zero in and around the area of the site. Plaintiffs sought compensation for these alleged inhalation injuries. Early actuarial studies, issued before there was any analysis or investigation of causation or liability, estimated there to be between $2.3 billion to $4.2 billion in potential liability exposure arising from the disaster response.