In 9/11 trial, sides must watch clock

The family, determined to prove what it believes was negligence, has resisted all attempts to settle. Theirs is the last wrongful-death action still pending of more than 90 filed after the attacks. Thousands of other families avoided court and received payments through a victims’ compensation fund.

But now, after this seemingly endless run-up, with a trial scheduled for later this year, the judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein of US District Court in Manhattan, has set a time limit. In a highly unusual move, Hellerstein will restrict each side to the same number of hours to present its case, and time the trial like a speed chess match.

“The time is going to be expressed not in days but in minutes,’’ Hellerstein has said in court.

Each side’s clock will start ticking whenever its lawyer rises to question or cross-examine a witness, or to argue before the jury, “everything the party wishes to do from openings through summations,’’ he said.

Hellerstein has said the trial, the only one stemming from the terror attacks, will last a month. That means, in one estimate, roughly 50 to 60 hours for each side.

The judge has made it clear that he is seeking to avoid the kind of trial that rolls on interminably as the details, minutiae, and technical arguments pile up and wants to keep the jury focused and interested.

“You know that once the jury gets bored with your presentation,’’ he has told the parties, “you’ve lost significant power of persuasion.’’

But his approach has prompted grumbling among the lawyers on both sides in a case in which, despite the passage of time, emotions remain raw.

Bavis grew up in Roslindale and was a hockey star for Catholic Memorial and Boston University before becoming a scout for the Los Angeles Kings. He was on his way to a training camp when he boarded Flight 175.

Donald A. Migliori, a lawyer for the Bavises, said limiting the trial to one month and dividing the time equally — he made the 50- to 60-hour prediction — was ambitious for a case of such magnitude, particularly for his clients, the plaintiffs, who bear the burden of proof. The lawsuit contends that the hijackers were able to board United Airlines Flight 175 in Boston because of negligence by United and other defendants.

“The person that is affected the most is my client,’’ Migliori said. “We’re talking about millions of pages of documents. We’re talking about distilling one of the most important stories in American history.’’

A lawyer for United, meanwhile, wrote to the judge, complaining that splitting the trial’s time 50-50 between the plaintiff and the defendants “would be unfair’’ because separate defendants may make different arguments.

The lawyer, Michael R. Feagley, proposed that the judge allocate 60 percent of the trial’s time to the defendants, which he said would still leave the Bavis family “far more time than any single defendant.’’

The judge, who declined to discuss his plan, has a reputation as a skilled jurist. He has overseen the litigation that followed the 9/11 attacks, including the resolution of thousands of health claims, and the other wrongful-death suits.

In a hearing in February, he refused to alter his formula.

“At the end of the day,’’ he said, a 50-50 split was as good “an approximation of justice as I could figure.’’