Judge Tosses Out 9/11 Remains Case

A lawsuit to have rubble from the Sept. 11 attacks given a proper burial was dismissed in a US court today, Reuters reports. Victims' families contend that the estimated 1.5 to 1.8 million tons of debris contain human remains, and must be removed from the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. But a judge ruled that New York City had "acted responsibly" in the "difficult and complicated" task of disposing the rubble.

"Plaintiffs have no property right in an undifferentiated, unidentifiable mass of dirt that may or may not contain the remains of plaintiffs' loved ones," he said. The families wanted the city to create a cemetery for the dirt, which has been searched several times but may contain fragmentary remains. About 1,100 World Trade Center victims have never been recovered. (More 9/11 attacks stories.)