Few 9/11 Families Still Suing The Airlines

(CBS)  The only way Julie Shontere sees and hears her daughter Angie Houtz anymore is by playing a videotape over and over again, reports CBS News Correspondent Thalia Assuras.

"I think we need to focus on our community, getting out and impacting people one by one," Houtz says on a video.

Angie Houtz was active in her church and worked at the Pentagon in Naval Intelligence, investigating terrorist attacks.

"If a mother was to pick a place to work, I would have thought that the middle ring in the Pentagon would have been one of the safest places in America," Shontere said.

But on September 11, 2001, Houtz was among the 125 people killed when an American Airlines flight exploded into the pentagon, and her mother is determined to hold the airlines and airline security firms responsible.

"I do it to honor Angie," Shontere said. "She was part of the intelligence community, and almost the irony that that's what took her life has prompted me to pursue answers in the name of what I believe she would want to know."

Shontere is one of a handful of victim's families who opted not to accept compensation from a fund set up by the government, the Victim's Compensation Fund, or VCF. But to receive that money, they had to had to agree not to sue the airlines.

"The Victims Compensation Fund wasn't looking for answers," Shontere said. "It wasn't looking for accountability. What it did is it effectively bailed the airlines out, with taxpayer's money. And I wasn't comfortable with that."

Originally 95 families decided to sue. So far half have settled, leaving only 41 still going to court. The Shonteres' attorney claims the suit will reveal new evidence of airline negligence.

"The terrorists took the weakest link and took advantage of it," said Keith Franz, an attorney at Azrael, Gann and Franz. "But if that link had been strengthened before 911 then maybe this entire event would have been avoided."

American Airlines declined an interview but offered a statement, saying: "... we empathize with all families who lost loved ones ... 98 percent of the cases have been settled privately or through the VCF. American is committed to continue working with the families toward settlement."

When Assuras asked how much she thought about settling, Shontere replied, "My intention is to get answers and settling doesn't answer those questions."

"You think Angie would have wanted you to take this course?" Assuras asked.

"She cared so much about making things better," Shontere replied. "The answers would have been necessary for Angie."

Trials start in September and the Shonteres expect to be third in line.

[oakishpines]

'' ... if i tax the world today, my grandkids get taxed tomorrow, if i dare and shock and awe the world today, my grandkids get dared and shocked and awed tomorrow, if i get sick soon the world today, my grand kids get sick sooned by the world tomorrow ... how cool is that ... ''

'' ... ''people are not a bunch of baby *** rapists'' they screamed as they dared us and dared us and dared us ... ''

[lblair57]

Can''t someone stop oakishpines from posting? The rambling has got to stop! What a moron!

[oakishpines]

'' ... though i move across on the ground, the ground too moves across on me, though the trees look as statues, they dance, and as i dance between them, they too likely think i stand as still as a statue, though my wings and tails and fins and gills seem to me broken and lost, my flight grooves, i just don''t feel so well just now, but i only feel as such a statue, but i am not, and were i, i would be but like the trees, a seeming statue, but very very rhthmic and melodic just the same ... ''

'' ... if you want seven billion songs and dances and get well soon bouquets, just bomb vanhatten and they will be yours, but why bother, you can have them anyway just by asking for them ... ''

[oakishpines]

sory, the double posts were completely accidental

'' ... the pharoah dictator, not an individual, just some phantom amalgum of sociological institutions, anyway the the princess had a problem, 7 billion fraid ends that were no problem, that come and go and swap and interchange free and easy, but tied together with a string that connected all the people, like two cups and a string, but seven billion fraid ends and a string, the string a fickle dragon more fickle than most, the princess was confused, at times she felt good about the dragon and the backups in reserve, and at times she knew just how high maintenance a string was that dragon, it drove her to kicking stars and planets out of the sky to save the galaxys, just ridiculous as it only leads to kicking universes to save eternitys, the men loved her, she tried to feed them and they loved that, it was a prequisite, but she did it wrong and in all the worst ways, and that, to them, made her priceless and adorable, to try to save them was noble, to screw it up royally was irresistable, though they could loathe her at times, they''d suffer hell like huvans cannot imagine for her, they were born, the men, in basic training, girls though, they were born with scarcely any teflon and kevlar in their veins whatsoever and tho it oft improved with age, many of them started out horribly equipped ... and the men all were enamored by that tremendously ... ''

[oakishpines]

'''' ... if i starve, don''''t let it be in a jurisdiction of non charity and taxation ... ''''

'''' ... the more big empire must be no more big than the more little one: most market share must go to the poorest soul, not the malnourished pauper, but the trillion dollar war lord ... if the militant baby girl may have her claim to all in the land, then that man too may rest easy ... ''''

'''' ... giving away free advertising to many entrepreneurs for small tips from a few is the ultimate capitalist adventure ... ''''

'''' ... don''''t dance porno hike naked dance dressed get sick tax world get well feed world songs rallied round tens millions sick beds drifting tens millions studio cottage farm trail groups ... ''''

'''' ... eternal storyboards swimming infinite oceans of eternal storyboards ... ''''

'''' ... gathering wealth has little to do with harvesting at the neighbors but with assuring the neighbors have plenty to harvest ... ''''

'' ... people don''t throw themselves off the backs of dragon to break all their bones for fun, silly ... ''

[oakishpines]

'' ... nerf buses and nerf carts just need lots of air and water and surface area and anti-density, kids sortof wave their hands and the buses and carts move and the buses and carts move the planets and the moons, like transmissions of energy in - leverage - recycle - leverage - energy out ... nuclear is a chainsaw pruning a finger nail ... ''




'' ... i underestimated a tiny nest of sweat bees once, their ability to misinterpret the facts ... i underestimated a globe of folk once, their ability to misinterpret the facts ... it seems they really do thing investing in noncharity and taxation, in get sick tax world, in the wealthy and the strong is the same as investing in charity and non taxation, in get well feed world, in the poor and the weak ... ''


'' ... the garden was crafted of useless star swallowing compost that craves to breathe and drink ... and to dance like haphazard moss draped across haphazard bones of branches swishing around in haphazard dirt splintered with speckles of drip air and drip water and drip fertile ... ''

[oakishpines]

'' ... given enough time, the good generals wil build for themselves an eternity of infinite numbers of eternitys where they never have to pay for anything at all as they no more are forced by the people to invest there dollars and votes in non charity and taxation and having so built that place where they no longer must pay for anything, they will afford themselves infinite divergence, meaning anyone may slay and slayve them at will without bringing any real harm or suffering or other detention to them, and having built that eternity, they will find that that eternity was already built for them long before they built it for themselves because they would have built it for themselves such that it had already been built for them long before they ever had to build it for themselves ... ''

[cherryfries]

How can you possibly sue the airlines of those planes which crashed on 9/11? The airlines had no involvement with planning the crashes and I can guarantee that the pilots didn''t wake up that morning planning on dying. If the families want someone to sue, sue the terrorists who did this. Everyone is so sue happy these days that they find it necessary to try to blame an institution that was innocent in all this. I hope that the judge who hears this throws it out of court immediately.

[cherryfries]

How can you possibly sue the airlines of those planes which crashed on 9/11? The airlines had no involvement with planning the crashes and I can guarantee that the pilots didn''t wake up that morning planning on dying. If the families want someone to sue, sue the terrorists who did this. Everyone is so sue happy these days that they find it necessary to try to blame an institution that was innocent in all this. I hope that the judge who hears this throws it out of court immediately.

[oakishpines]

'' ... folk are kindof flockish, tell them to kill all those folk or slave all those folk and they do, tell them to stop and they do, tell them to invest all their money and votes in non charity and taxation and they do, tell them to stop and they do ... ''


'' ... it seems cruel, all this hoopla about some tiny wealthy minority with all the market share, all for the benefit of the impoverished masses that aren''t allowed any market share, for their own good, it''s not cruel of course, it makes perfect sense, it really is for their own good, look at them, they are the impoverished masses ... ''


'' ... running in screamming dare ya dare ya, shock and awe ya shock and awe ya, babies get raped, that''s not the point of the whole thing though, the point of raping all those babies, is to stop those that claim to saive babies while they run around secretly raping babies ... ''