The dismissal of 170 Sept. 11-related cases for failure to comply with court orders was upheld on Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Southern District Judge Alvin Hellerstein (See Profile) had dismissed the 170 cases, brought in 2012 by plaintiffs who worked as office cleaners in buildings surrounding the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The reason cited by the judge was failure to prosecute: despite being granted time extensions, 85 plaintiffs submitted insufficient written certifications that their interrogatory answers were true and correct under penalty of perjury and 85 submitted no certification at all.
On Tuesday, Judges Ralph Winter (See Profile), Peter Hall (See Profile) and William Sessions of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont said Hellerstein was well within his discretion in refusing to grant any more extensions as part of his plan to move cases through discovery in the complex litigation. The circuit also clarified what passes muster under 28 U.S.C. §1746, which requires the truth of a writing to be sworn to in a written certification.
