"This is an important step in the ongoing process for the recovery of property insurance proceeds needed to support our rebuilding efforts at the World Trade Center," Silverstein says in a prepared statement. ""We will continue to pursue our recovery from the other insurers.

According to Silverstein's attorneys, ACE and XL were the only two insurers that had signed the so-called WilProp insurance form, which contains specific language describing what constitutes an "occurrence." The remaining insurers, Silverstein says, are bound by a Travelers Insurance form that does not define the term. The developer has argued that the attacks on the trade center towers were two separate events, thereby entitling his company to two payouts.