The insurers of now-failed European airline Swissair were celebrating last week after a New York judge barred punitive damages being paid out to settle 20 civil lawsuits stemming from the 1998 crash of Swissair flight 111.

District Judge James Giles decided that 244 civil lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the crash fell under the US Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) and the Warsaw Convention treaty. Both excluded punitive damages against Swissair or associated defendants Delta Airlines, Boeing, SAirGroup, SR Technics AG, Interactive Flight Technologies Inc and other defendants. 

The Swissair flight crashed on September 2, 1998, near the island of Nova Scotia while en route from New York to Geneva. All 215 passengers and 14 crew on board died in the crash, which is suspected to have been caused by an onboard fire that started in faulty wiring.

Judge Giles ruled that US civil law did not govern the case because the crash occurred beyond the 12-mile (19km) limit for territorial waters.