Two law firms that claim they are entitled to as much as 13 percent of the nearly $90 million the city of New York has paid out to victims of the 2003 Staten Island Ferry disaster suffered a minor setback in Brooklyn federal court last week.
The two firms, Dougherty, Ryan, Giuffra, Zambito & Hession in Manhattan and Bosco, Bisignano & Mascolo on Staten Island, served respectively as maritime counsel and liaison counsel for the 171 cases against the city stemming from the crash of the Andrew J. Barberi, which killed 11 people and injured at least 70.
