NEW YORK (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- A man who claimed he was injured when the Staten Island Ferry crashed into a terminal in 2003 lost a lawsuit over the wreck this week after the city of New York accused him of lying about being on the boat.
City lawyers said George Adde, 66, of the Bronx, told conflicting stories about his activities the day of the accident.
During one deposition, he testified that he walked to Manhattan's Battery Park after the crash -- an impossibility because the accident happened at a terminal on Staten Island.
A federal judge in Brooklyn ruled in the city's favor late Monday after a two-day trial. He called Adde ``much less than credible'' and ordered him to pay for the trial.
``Our office will aggressively litigate cases that we believe are not meritorious, and we are pleased that the judge agreed that the plaintiff did not prove that he was even on the ferry that day,'' the city's chief lawyer, Michael A. Cardozo, said in a statement Wednesday.
Adde's lawyer, Jason Paris, called the court decision ``a travesty'' and said his client told the truth.
``I believe 100 percent, with every fiber of my being, that George Adde was on the ferry when it crashed, and that's how he sustained his injuries,'' he said.
Eleven people died and dozens were injured on Oct. 15, 2003, when one of the iconic ferry boats, the Andrew J. Barberi, crashed into a concrete pier after its captain passed out.
The city, which operates the ferry service, has so far paid out $85.5 million in settlements and judgments related to the crash.
In his suit, Adde claimed he fell during the crash and later developed back pain that required surgery and has made him unable to work for six years.
As for his client's deposition testimony, Paris said Adde, an African immigrant who speaks English as a fourth language, merely became confused by a question and thought the lawyers were asking him about an earlier, uneventful ferry trip.
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