City officials appealed today a federal judge’s rejection of a $657 million settlement offer for thousands of workers who got sick at the site of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, according to the Associated Press.

Last month, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said that the city’s original settlement did not offer enough money for the 10,000 plaintiffs and that the deal needed to be renegotiated.

The original deal said a neutral third party was expected to decide individual cash payments, which could range from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million.

The judge raised questions about sizable legal fees that would be paid out to attorneys.

The terms of the original settlement said that 95 percent of the workers had to agree to the deal.

Lawyers from both sides have questioned whether Hellerstein had the authority to grant the final approval for the settlement.

(Source: NY1)