In affirming the decision, the Second Circuit, in its 62-page decision, ruled that the meaning of the term is "ambiguous under New York law" and that a jury would have to decide the issue in order to determine the parties' intentions as to the meaning of the term as applied to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Howard J. Rubenstein, a spokesman for Larry Silverstein, head of Silverstein Properties, leaseholder of the site, states, "While we had hoped that the Second Circuit would rule that the events of Sept. 11 constituted two occurrences as a matter of law, we are fully confident that a jury hearing all of the evidence will reject the insurers' attempts to avoid paying for the cost of rebuilding the World Trade Center."

Jacques Dubois, chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corp., one of the WTC insurers, comments that, "Swiss Re is ecstatic about the decision. Every court that has considered Silverstein's argument to recover beyond his stated insurance policy limit has rejected it outright. We are confident that a jury will do the same."