‘Big Dig’ victim petitions court to proceed with suit

BOSTON – The husband of a woman killed in the collapse of a part of Boston’s “Big Dig” tunnel last month asked court permission to pursue a suit against Modern Continental Construction Co. that was suspended when the contractor filed for bankruptcy.
Bloomberg News reported that attorneys for Angel Del Valle, in a motion filed June 27 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston, said the automatic stay, which blocks lawsuits against bankrupt companies, should be lifted so that his state court suit against Modern Continental and other contractors can move forward. Modern Continental filed for protection against creditors on June 23.
“Allowing plaintiffs to continue the state court action in Superior Court will not interfere with the debtor’s Chapter 11 case,” according to the request.
Del Valle was injured and his wife, Milena, was killed, when four concrete ceiling slabs in the Interstate 90 Connector Tunnel fell in June 2006, crushing his car. Del Valle sued the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and more than a dozen companies in state court for negligence resulting in wrongful death and injury.
Modern Continental attorney Harold Murphy, of Hanify & King in Boston, declined to comment.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William Hillman agreed to hold a hearing on the motion July 9, according to court filings. &#8226