N002495
January 22, 2002
VIA FACSIMILE
Kenneth Feinberg, Esq.
c/o Kenneth L. Zwick, Director
Office of Management Programs
Civil Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Main Building, Room 3140
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Mr. Feinberg:
I am writing on behalf of
, who was the fiancee of
,
a Vice President of
, who died in the terrorist attacks on the World
Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
, who is 27 years old, and
, who was 29 years old at the time
of his death, were schedule to be married on
,
at
in Manhattan. A reception was planned at the
. The invitations to their wedding
and reception were already printed on September 11th and were about to be mailed.
and
had already given notice to their respective landlords that they were to terminate
their leases as of October 30th and had signed a lease on a "perfect" apartment in Brooklyn
Heights beginning November 1st.
This was a couple with a bright and beautiful future, which was cut off
prematurely as a result of the terrorist attacks. Nevertheless, under the laws of the State of New
York,
will not have a right to receive any portion of her fianc‚'s estate, and, under
the interim regulations of the Victim Compensation Fund, because distributions must be made
"in a manner consistent with the law of the decedent's domicile", she will not have a right to any
portion of the benefits from the program. I respectfully submit that this result is neither equitable
nor morally correct.
As you are no doubt aware, the plight of the nearly wed was movingly exposed in
an article printed on the front page of today's The New York Times. While the Special Master
has the authority to "appropriately compensate the victim's spouse, children or other relatives"
regardless of state law, a fiancee of a victim, who is not related by law, has no such
discretionary right. In addition, there is no procedure under the regulations to ensure that the
fianc‚ or fiancee's claim will be heard. It seems inconsistent with the intent of Congress that the
person who was perhaps the closest to the victim should be denied all right to compensation.
Accordingly, I respectfully request, on behalf of
, that you revise the
regulations to provide that, (i) upon proof of an impending marriage, a fianc‚ or fiancee of a
victim will have a right, discretionary or otherwise, to receive a portion of the benefits awarded
from the Victim Compensation Fund as a result of the victim's death, and (ii) a procedure be
established to allow a person who would not otherwise take under state law, but who has a
colorable right, such as a fianc‚ or fiancee, to present a claim for a share of such benefits.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
New York, NY