Aegis Insurance Services v. 7 World Trade Co., L.P.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
737 F.3d 166 (2013)
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, debris from the collapsing North Tower struck 7 World Trade Center, sparking fires that burned for hours after the building was evacuated and firefighters withdrew for safety reasons. When 7WTC eventually collapsed, it destroyed an electrical substation owned by Con Edison (plaintiff), which sued the building's designers and builders (defendants) for negligent design that allegedly should have let the building withstand localized damage without collapsing. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants on the ground that they owed Con Ed no duty because the attacks were unforeseeable.
Whether a negligence plaintiff must prove that the defendant's act was the cause-in-fact of the plaintiff's injury.