FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo the twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York after terrorists crashed two planes into the towers causing both to collapse. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler).

ALBANY—The state's highest court on Tuesday gave a group of Sept. 11 cleanup workers the green light to file asbestos-related lawsuits in federal court.

In a unanimous decision, No. 119, the state's Court of Appeals ruled that the Battery Park City Authority is a government entity and didn't have legal standing to challenge Jimmy Nolan's Law, a 2009 state law that gave workers who toiled in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, an extra year to file claims against the authority.

The cleanup workers argued that they have developed respiratory illnesses related to the asbestos cleanup at properties owned by Battery Park City Authority, including Ground Zero. The workers claimed that the authority failed to ensure their safety.

Meanwhile, the Battery Park City Authority argued that the state law extending the filing time was unconstitutional, and that the workers' claims should be dismissed.

The Battery Park City Authority challenged the state law extending the filing deadline and in 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the new state law was an “extreme use of legislative power.” The cleanup workers then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, but before the circuit court could take up their appeal, the state's top court, the Court of Appeals, had to determine whether the Battery Park City Authority and other public benefit corporations have legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state law.

The state Court of Appeals' decision means that the Battery Park City Authority loses the ability to challenge Jimmy Nolan's Law, and the workers who toiled on the pile can pursue their asbestos claims in federal court.

Associate Judge Paul Feinman said in his opinion that a claim-revival statute “will satisfy the due process clause of the state constitution if it was enacted as a reasonable response in order to remedy an injustice.”

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Associate Judges Jenny Rivera, Leslie Stein, Eugene Fahey and Michael Garcia concurred with Feinman's opinion. Rivera concurred in her own opinion, as did Associate Judge Rowan Wilson.

The appellants were represented by Gregory Cannata of Gregory J. Cannata & Associates, a personal injury law firm, and Luke Nikas, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner.

In an email, Nikas said, “We're pleased that our clients—who sacrificed their health and safety to clean up the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks—will finally have the opportunity to pursue their claims and get the justice they deserve.”

Daniel Connolly, a managing partner at Bracewell, represented the Battery Park City Authority. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo the twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York after terrorists crashed two planes into the towers causing both to collapse. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler).

ALBANY—The state's highest court on Tuesday gave a group of Sept. 11 cleanup workers the green light to file asbestos-related lawsuits in federal court.

In a unanimous decision, No. 119, the state's Court of Appeals ruled that the Battery Park City Authority is a government entity and didn't have legal standing to challenge Jimmy Nolan's Law, a 2009 state law that gave workers who toiled in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, an extra year to file claims against the authority.

The cleanup workers argued that they have developed respiratory illnesses related to the asbestos cleanup at properties owned by Battery Park City Authority, including Ground Zero. The workers claimed that the authority failed to ensure their safety.

Meanwhile, the Battery Park City Authority argued that the state law extending the filing time was unconstitutional, and that the workers' claims should be dismissed.

The Battery Park City Authority challenged the state law extending the filing deadline and in 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the new state law was an “extreme use of legislative power.” The cleanup workers then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, but before the circuit court could take up their appeal, the state's top court, the Court of Appeals, had to determine whether the Battery Park City Authority and other public benefit corporations have legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state law.

The state Court of Appeals' decision means that the Battery Park City Authority loses the ability to challenge Jimmy Nolan's Law, and the workers who toiled on the pile can pursue their asbestos claims in federal court.

Associate Judge Paul Feinman said in his opinion that a claim-revival statute “will satisfy the due process clause of the state constitution if it was enacted as a reasonable response in order to remedy an injustice.”

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Associate Judges Jenny Rivera, Leslie Stein, Eugene Fahey and Michael Garcia concurred with Feinman's opinion. Rivera concurred in her own opinion, as did Associate Judge Rowan Wilson.

The appellants were represented by Gregory Cannata of Gregory J. Cannata & Associates, a personal injury law firm, and Luke Nikas, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner.

In an email, Nikas said, “We're pleased that our clients—who sacrificed their health and safety to clean up the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks—will finally have the opportunity to pursue their claims and get the justice they deserve.”

Daniel Connolly, a managing partner at Bracewell, represented the Battery Park City Authority. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.