The Problematic Role of the Special Master: Undermining the Legitimacy of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

Abstract

The immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks was a time of intense national mourning which upended the normal political process. Less than two weeks after. the collapse of the World Trade Center, a unified Congress passed the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (ATSSSA, or "the Act"), a bill intended to help stabilize the economy by protecting the airlines from an avalanche of litigation. The ATSSSA represents the largest single corporate bailout in history and the biggest no-fault compensation scheme in decades. It provides five billion dollars in cash payments, ten billion dollars in a loan guarantee program, and a cap on litigation damages equal to the airlines' six billion dollars of insurance coverage.