Former Willis executive Alexander Vietor testified that right after the attacks, he was asked to head up a Sept. 11 claims task force team to deal with the many clients affected by the WTC collapse. As part of that job function he met in the days after with representatives from Silverstein, among others to discuss the insurance situation, particularly the magnitude of the loss.

The trial, which has been ongoing for a number of weeks and is expected to continue for a few weeks more, deals with the issue of whether the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks constitute as one or two occurrences for purposes of a $3.55-billion "per occurrence" policy covering the commercial buildings at the complex. Silverstein Properties president Larry Silverstein has maintained that the $7-billion plus amount is needed to rebuild the complex.

Under questioning, Vietor acknowledged that the "occurrence" issue was not discussed in very initial meetings because he "knew it was going to be added complexity." He testified that because the policy had not been signed--Silverstein Properties had taken over the leasehold interest barely a month or so before the attacks---the binder would govern. He testified that, in his belief, there was a "limit policy" that would amount to the $3.55 billion per occurrence. Additional testimony dealt with e-mails and documents that debated the meaning of the word occurrence.