John Feal Accepts a Settlement of His Lawsuit in Court
Dear Client:
We are writing to tell you about some exciting news. We are pleased to report that John Feal, the leader and founder of the Feal Good Foundation, settled his pending World Trade Center lawsuit for money damages on September 28, 2010 - before the enactment of the Zadroga Bill. Attached is the stipulation of discontinuance where the parties in John Feal's case have “settled all of his past, present and future claims.”
With this action, John Feal has demonstrated that the appropriate way to resolve your case is to settle your pending lawsuit and sign your release now, and then apply for Zadroga Bill benefits if and when the legislation is passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President. By settling, Mr. Feal - the leader of the Feal Good Foundation -- has shown that the only guaranteed benefit available to the Heroes of 9/11 now is the settlement with the City and Contractors. You also can settle your case now and later be entitled to the Zadroga benefits if the law is enacted.
We applaud John Feal for taking advantage of the settlement with the City/Contractors and preserving his right to additional compensation under the Zadroga Bill if it ever becomes law. (As you know, the Zadroga Bill has passed the House of Representatives but has not yet passed the Senate. Its future in the Senate is uncertain, and the Senate will not be voting on the Zadroga Bill until after the deadline for accepting the settlement under the SPA with the City and its Contractors.) John Feal's acceptance of his settlement sets the standard that all responders should follow: (1) settle your World Trade Center case now for rapid and certain compensation under the SPA, and (2) preserve your right to receive additional compensation from the Zadroga Bill if it is ever enacted.
Settling your lawsuit now, like John Feal has done, gives you two opportunities to receive compensation: (1) guaranteed compensation now for settling your World Trade Center case under the SPA, and (2) potential additional compensation later under the Zadroga Bill if it is ever enacted. Two opportunities for compensation are rarely afforded to plaintiffs in a personal injury lawsuit. You may have that chance - but only if you settle your case before the Zadroga Bill is enacted into law.
If you have not yet opted into the settlement with the City/Contractors, you must opt-in now in order to avoid losing the additional compensation you may be entitled to if Zadroga passes. By opting into the settlement with the City/Contractors, you will have the benefit of potentially securing compensation from both sources -- your lawsuit and Zadroga. Therefore, if you want to obtain guaranteed compensation under the SPA and protect your future rights to any additional compensation you may be entitled to under the Zadroga Bill, you must opt-in to the settlement with the City and Contractors immediately. With only 36 days to go before the November 8th deadline for settling under the SPA, our law firm needs all the time available to process your forms and make sure that they contain all necessary documentation. Do not wait any longer to accept your settlement.
In order for you to take advantage of these two opportunities, like John Feal did, we urge you to opt-in to the World Trade Center settlement now by returning your completed World Trade Center settlement package to our office today by mail or by hand delivering your settlement package to one of our offices this week.
Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern, LLP
*** This communication has been approved by Court appointed legal ethicist Professor Roy D. Simon, Esq. ***
