Judge denies NYC bid to limit damages in Staten Island ferry crash

(AP) A federal judge on Monday denied the city's request to limit the amount of damages from the Staten Island ferry crash that killed 11 people and injured dozens in one of the worst mass-transit disasters in city history.

The city had sought to cap civil claims to a total of $14.4 million _ the value of the vessel Andrew J. Barberi _ citing a 19th century maritime statute. Scores of plaintiffs have sued the city for damages that lawyers say could reach billions of dollars.

The Barberi slammed into a concrete pier on Oct. 15, 2003 after pilot Richard Smith, suffering from extreme fatigue and on painkillers, passed out at the helm. In a guilty plea in 2005, ferry director Patrick Ryan, the top-ranking city official charged in crash, admitted he failed to implement or enforce a rule requiring two pilots during docking.

"The city's failure to provide a second pilot or otherwise adopt a reasonable practice that addresses the issue of pilot incapacitation was plainly a substantial factor in causing the disaster," wrote U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn. "Because this negligence is directly attributable to its director of ferry operations, the city cannot limit its liability to the value of the Barberi."

Michael A. Cardozo, New York City corporation counsel, disagreed, saying the crash was unforeseeable.

"This was a terrible tragedy, and our hearts go out to those affected by the accident," Cardozo said. "The accident occurred, however, because (Smith) took over the operation and navigation of the ferry when he was unfit to do so, and did not disclose that fact to anyone."

The city has already settled some civil lawsuits.

Smith was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Ryan received a year and one day.