Family members attributed their change of heart about settling to frustration over the legal system that they say gutted their case by limiting its scope.
“For almost 10 years, my family never even considered the word ‘settle,’ ’’ said Mike Bavis, Mark’s identical twin brother. “We were always going to trial. How that changed has everything to do with the court, the legal system, and the rulings from Judge [Alvin] Hellerstein.’’ The amount of damages in the settlement is confidential.
The lawsuit, said Mike Bavis, was about “wrongful death, gross negligence, and a complete lack of appreciation for the value of human life.’’ Instead, the judge changed it to a case about federal regulations, he said.
The trial had been set to begin Nov. 7 in federal court in Manhattan.
Mark Bavis was one of the 56 passengers who departed Logan International Airport on United Flight 175, the second plane to hit the World Trade Center. The 31-year-old Newton resident was headed to a Los Angeles Kings training camp in Los Angeles.
The settlement came 12 days after Hellerstein ruled Sept. 7 that United Airlines and its security contractor, Huntleigh USA, had to prove only that they adhered to federal aviation safety standards, and didn’t have to meet the state standards of wrongful death that the plaintiffs had sought. The defense then asked the judge to dismiss the case.
In response, the Bavises’ lawyers late Friday filed a 100-page brief with 127 exhibits outlining the evidence they intended to present at trial, including depositions obtained from more than 200 screeners working on Sept. 11, 2001, at Logan, their supervisors, chiefs of security for the airline, and Federal Aviation Administration officials.
The testimony revealed that the five terrorists who boarded Flight 175 passed through screeners at United Airlines who did not speak English - one even required a translator for her deposition - did not know who Osama bin Laden was or what Al Qaeda was, and were inexperienced and underpaid. In addition, many of the screeners on duty that day “did not know what Mace and pepper spray were.’’
