Bavis family settles 9/11 lawsuit

By Bella English, Globe Staff

After nearly 10 years of wrongful death litigation, the family of Mark Bavis of Roslindale, a pro hockey scout killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, reached a settlement today with United Airlines and its security contractor. The family was the lone holdout among the thousands that either accepted money from the $7 billion Victims Compensation Fund or settled their lawsuits.

The amount of damages is confidential. The Bavis family, who had steadfastedly refused to settle their suit, attributed their change of heart to frustration over the legal system that they say “gutted” their case.

“For almost 10 years, my family never even considered the word ‘settle,’” said Mike Bavis, the identical twin brother of Mark Bavis, a pro hockey scout from Roslindale killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “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 trial was set to begin Nov. 7 in federal court in Manhattan.

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.

Mark Bavis was one of the 56 passengers on United Flight 175 out of Logan International Airport, the second plane to hit the World Trade Center. He was 31 years old, headed to a Los Angeles Kings training camp in Los Angeles.

The settlement came 12 days after 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’ attorneys 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 FAA 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.”

According to the documents, both screeners and their supervisors failed to act on the suspicious behavior of two of the hijackers, who were let through even though they didn’t speak English and could not respond to security questions. Additional screening, the Bavis attorneys allege, would have included a hand search of their carry-on bags, which contained knives, Mace, and pepper spray.

A spokesman for United Airlines released a statement today that “the tragic events of 9/11 impacted all of us, and we are pleased to resolve this case.” An attorney for Huntleigh did not return repeated telephone calls.

With the release of the depositions, the Bavises were able to accomplish a major goal of theirs, said Mike Bavis: to make public the airline’s failure to adequately screen passengers. “Is this a moral victory?” he said. “It depends on what happens. If the government and the FAA are more accountable in doing their jobs, then it will be worth it.”

Mary Bavis and her six surviving children filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2002 against United, Huntleigh, and Massport, which runs Logan Airport, but Hellerstein dismissed the claim against Massport in July. Mrs. Bavis is 80 now and still lives in the Roslindale home where she and her husband raised their children. Richard Bavis, a Boston police officer, died in 1990 of heart failure at age 62.

In an interview in August, Mary Bavis told the Globe that she and her children decided just after Sept. 11 that they needed answers about how the hijackers got on board Flight 175.

“The big thing, in our hearts and soul, was we really feel as if security and United should have spotted these guys,” he said. “Every time I hear an airplane, it’s like a stab in my heart. It brings it all back.”

The family’s attorney, Donald Migliori of the firm Motley Rice, said today that the settlement was the result of both the family’s frustration with court delays and rulings, and their relief that the depositions were finally released.

“It has been a long battle for this family to get to this point,” Migliori said. “I think in the end what the family wants is to be able to give Mark voice, and to the extent these documents have been shared with the public — long after the lawsuit is closed, they hope it contributes to the discussion about safety in the air.”

Migliori said more depositions in the case will remain sealed because they contain “sensitive security information” that the Transportation Safety Administration has determined is confidential.

The importance of getting the Bavis story out, Migliori said, is to remind the public to be vigilant and to report security concerns. “This is a responsibility we all share,” he said. “It has to be a high priority for us all.”

Mike Bavis said that the easiest way to prevent the “tragedy and horror” of 9/11 would have been “to have an airline industry that made a reasonable effort to provide security for its passengers. The evidence shows that they most certainly did not.”