Lidle Widow Sued by Apartment Dwellers

The man suing didn't have insurance? Does apartment renters insurance not cover being hit by a plane? Did Lidle not have liability insurance for his plane? Something's missing.
 
According to the article, they weren't home when the plane hit. So this is a 7 Mil. lawsuit against a widow for a bunch of destroyed stuff. Wonder if they even know how to spell narcissistic?

Jim G
 
I'm taking the other side on this one. Lidle and his genius CFI F-ed up big time. Why should they not be held liable? If your apartment were the crash scene, would you take a financial hit, or would you gladly pay increased insurance premiums because your insurance company took a big hit on your behalf?

You can be confident that the insurance company that covered the building will make a claim against Lidle and his insurance companies. Why are you shocked that the apartment owners in the building are doing the same thing?

As far as the rhetoric in the article - homeless, etc. - this is the New York Post, guys. Sure to be as sensational as possible. What do they have to talk about now that Anna Nicole has faded from the center of the limelight?

-Skip
 
Yeah, but 7 million dollars? That's a load of horse hockey.
 
Skip Miller said:
As far as the rhetoric in the article - homeless, etc. - this is the New York Post, guys. Sure to be as sensational as possible. What do they have to talk about now that Anna Nicole has faded from the center of the limelight?

-Skip
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Don't count on it, this is page 7 news. Anna owned the first 3 pages.
 
Id like to get this story from a different source.......... less the sensationalism. My guess............. there suing for 7 in hopes of settling for 3, maybe less. Doesn't the person in who's name is on the liability policy get named in the suit? I was in an accident once with a friend and she sued. I was the one named in the suit even though it was pretty much between her and the insurance company. Guess it's a good thing I'm not a newspaper editor; ....... Who lets a story like that go to print without covering the insurance angle?
 
EdFred said:
Yeah, but 7 million dollars? That's a load of horse hockey.
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Exactly. $100k, maybe. And that would almost definately be enough to cover possessions in the apartment, and living expenses for a few weeks until they find a new place, and some compensation.

Come on, $7 million? Did they have 30 Bentleys parked in their living room, all completely destroyed?

That makes about as much sense as Lidle's widow suing them for living in a building in the middle of the sky.
 
EdFred said:
Yeah, but 7 million dollars? That's a load of horse hockey.
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I think that I would rather see a lawsuit encourage smarter, safer flying than new federal regulations. Also, Manhattan living is very different from most other cities in the US .. 7M doesn't seem totally outrageous to me.
 
LvPilot said:
I think that I would rather see a lawsuit encourage smarter, safer flying than new federal regulations. Also, Manhattan living is very different from most other cities in the US .. 7M doesn't seem totally outrageous to me.
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Come on, you desmoke the place, yank the carpet, slap some Killz on the walls, repaint, recarpet, and buy new furniture. No where near $7M in damages. And if it was, the better be insured for $7M+.

Now had someone been home, and lost a leg, arm, etc...I could see the vlidity of the lawsuit. But this should be tossed immediately.
 
LvPilot said:
I think that I would rather see a lawsuit encourage smarter, safer flying than new federal regulations. Also, Manhattan living is very different from most other cities in the US .. 7M doesn't seem totally outrageous to me.
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These were the tenants, not the owners of the apartments. What do you think they possibly could have had in an apartment worth even $1M? 8,000lbs of crack cocaine? That figure is extremely unrealistic.

Their lawyer saw deep pockets, and decided to go for as much as he could. It is SOP for these ambulance chasers.
 
EdFred said:
Come on, you desmoke the place, yank the carpet, slap some Killz on the walls, repaint, recarpet, and buy new furniture. No where near $7M in damages. And if it was, the better be insured for $7M+.

Now had someone been home, and lost a leg, arm, etc...I could see the vlidity of the lawsuit. But this should be tossed immediately.
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considering how long it took me to get approval to change an electrical outlet in my unit for a ceiling fan, I believe it would be easier to get and arm or a leg mended than it would be to get approval from the co-op board for the repairs (.. not to mention agreement on who is approved to perform the repairs) .. and good luck finding a decent place to live at a reasonable price for an undetermined period of time ... come to think of it, I'd probably sue for 12M
 
SteveR said:
These were the tenants, not the owners of the apartments. What do you think they possibly could have had in an apartment worth even $1M? 8,000lbs of crack cocaine? That figure is extremely unrealistic.

Their lawyer saw deep pockets, and decided to go for as much as he could. It is SOP for these ambulance chasers.
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the article states that they are the owners .. it's just confusing because they call co-ops and condos there apartments.
 
Suing a berieved widow indeed. One of the many reasons I will never move back to the East Coast.
 
EdFred said:
Come on, you desmoke the place, yank the carpet, slap some Killz on the walls, repaint, recarpet, and buy new furniture. No where near $7M in damages. And if it was, the better be insured for $7M+.
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"Pain and Suffering". :rolleyes:

Now the Cirrus will be even more expensive and have a huge discalimer placard installed on the side below the N number. "Aircraft Not Intended for Flight"
 
steingar said:
Suing a berieved widow indeed. One of the many reasons I will never move back to the East Coast.
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Hey, it's no problem for the bereaved widow or family of the pilot whose negligence caused the accident to sue the FAA, the aircraft manufacturer, and everyone else for allowing a famous person to kill to himself and others. Ref: Bob Collins, JFK, Jr.

Since JFK, Jr. we've needed a law outlawing being famous and still being allowed to crash and die.
 
$7 million? They deserve to be homeless!
ApacheBob
 
I have issues with the writing as well. It does not address if this was a rented or owned "apartment" or what liability requirements the plaintiff (Rosenthal) may have toward the building's owner or homeowners association.

Aviation insurance can be pretty difficult in paying out. You don't have the same "guarantee" as you do with auto insurance in most states. They have quite a few loop holes. It's possible Lidle's liability coverage would not cover the complete loss or possibly refused coverage if he was found not to fulfill the requirements of the policy. The carrier may refuse to cover all damages until the NTSB has published an official finding.

Tort claims are often artificially inflated with a starting figure. If the suit goes through, they may get substantially less. Or, a jury of idiots may award more. As for who is named, the party or estate is named. But, their insurance will be required to step in with defense.

The story is indeed sensationalized. This guy is not poor. But, consider the source. They use anything for their agenda. Either way, there's a lot missing from this story.
 
steingar said:
Suing a berieved widow indeed. One of the many reasons I will never move back to the East Coast.
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So widows don't get sued in California? Or in any other state either?

Live where you want. This, however, is a pretty lame excuse for choosing a location.

-Skip
 
JohnR said:
Maybe the plaintiff is a Red Sox fan.
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That's a good one!

Overall, I have go with the validity of the suit (unfortunately for GA) but NOT the high dollar amount.
 
Read the Forbes article.

First of all she is being sued in her capacity as administrator of the C. Lidle estate, not in her personal capacity.

Second of all, she at the same time is prosecuting a lawsuit against Cirrus and several others.

Yeah, I feel real sorry for her and this lawsuit :rolleyes: Not! I do feel sorry for her loss though.
 
alaskaflyer said:
Second of all, she at the same time is prosecuting a lawsuit against Cirrus and several others.
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Good grief, she is suing Cirrus? I guess this moronic nonsense will never end in this country. That should be thrown out and the lawyer bringing it to court should be fined. If I go drive my car into a building (through sheer negligence on my part), can my widow sue Chevrolet? Why not sue the contractor who built the building?
 
alaskaflyer said:
Read the Forbes article.

First of all she is being sued in her capacity as administrator of the C. Lidle estate, not in her personal capacity.

Second of all, she at the same time is prosecuting a lawsuit against Cirrus and several others.

Yeah, I feel real sorry for her and this lawsuit :rolleyes: Not! I do feel sorry for her loss though.
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To clarify, I feel there is validity for pursuing negligence and damages on the part of the PICs, not the aircraft manufacturer.
 
The reason our planes cost so damned much is everyone sees the manufacturer as deep pockets so they carry liability insurance which we pay. If it worked like cars, the pilots insurance would pay off the damage claim and that's it. Try getting any more.
But these infernal flying machines are so unique that everybody has to pay and pay. And not just for real damages, but the pain and suffering.
What a bunch of BS.
And that lawyer is a real prize.... "They're still homeless." HA!
 
LvPilot said:
considering how long it took me to get approval to change an electrical outlet in my unit for a ceiling fan,
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If you own the unit .. why would you say anything to anyone. Just do it and
make sure you do it to code.
 
With the limited information thus far, I'm ok with the suit by the apartment owner if Lidle's carrier is giving him fits on covering damages. But this suit against Cirrus is a joke. Negligence, how? I'm sorry but it was a dumb@$$ move how that plane was maneuvered in that corridor. They were too fast and too inexperienced to handle conditions. The only ones negligent were the pilot and CFI. Heck, if she wants to go after someone, look at the CFI and his liability carrier. Or, possibly an FBO/school or other party who signed off on this CFI meeting the requirements for Lidle to have aboard. But, going after Cirrus is plain nonsense. All they're guilty of is building a quality airplane too many people buy and are too inexperienced at handling. They've even put together a network of CFI's to train in their planes. What else could they do? Why wasn't such a CFI sought out? I'm sorry for the loss but this whole blame process bugs the crap out of me.
 
grattonja said:
According to the article, they weren't home when the plane hit. So this is a 7 Mil. lawsuit against a widow for a bunch of destroyed stuff. Wonder if they even know how to spell narcissistic?

Jim G
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Huh? The suit is against the estate of a guy who screwed the pooch and crashed a plane into the guys home. You know what those places cost? Sorry, but from the looks of things, they have not yet been compensated for a loss that was not of their doing and all of Liddles liability. So sad too bad for the widow, she married him for better or worse, this is part of worse. He crashed the f***ing plane into the building. Should the apartment owner eat that because Liddle was a baseball player? I'm not seeing the logic.
 
N6399A said:
Id like to get this story from a different source.......... less the sensationalism. My guess............. there suing for 7 in hopes of settling for 3, maybe less. Doesn't the person in who's name is on the liability policy get named in the suit? I was in an accident once with a friend and she sued. I was the one named in the suit even though it was pretty much between her and the insurance company. Guess it's a good thing I'm not a newspaper editor; ....... Who lets a story like that go to print without covering the insurance angle?
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Priced a riverview apartment in Manhattan lately? 'taint cheap. I'm not sure what the repairs cost, and if he's being denied his claim, then a big chunk he's seeking is punative damages for Bad Faith, and rightfully so, actually if that's the case, they are being generous not adding a zero to the suit.
 
SteveR said:
Exactly. $100k, maybe. And that would almost definately be enough to cover possessions in the apartment, and living expenses for a few weeks until they find a new place, and some compensation.

Come on, $7 million? Did they have 30 Bentleys parked in their living room, all completely destroyed?

That makes about as much sense as Lidle's widow suing them for living in a building in the middle of the sky.
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I don't think you all understand the Manhattan housing market, this most likely is an "Owned" apartment, not rented. This was a riverfront, riverview apartment. Look in the realestate listings and see what that place cost...

BTW, I've run BOATS where the paintings in the salon alone were worth over $10 million, and that boat was owned by people who have apartments in similar neighborhoods.
 
EdFred said:
Come on, you desmoke the place, yank the carpet, slap some Killz on the walls, repaint, recarpet, and buy new furniture. No where near $7M in damages. And if it was, the better be insured for $7M+.

Now had someone been home, and lost a leg, arm, etc...I could see the vlidity of the lawsuit. But this should be tossed immediately.
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Ya ever see the price on some of these manhattan Highrise apartments?

Plus its hard to criticize them if ya don't know what they are suing for perhaps the insurance didn't cover the apartment who knows. So do we give lidels estate the benefit of the apartment owners forsight in getting insurance but if he didn't why should the estate get a free ride.

I'll give you an example. A true story. A friend of mine and his family( wife and two young elementary age kids lived in my town. Local gas station had a leak in its tanks knew about it and never told anyone about it. They knew the state would shut them down so they just let a shizzle of gasoline leak into the ground so much so that a well exploded across the street when the electric well pump sparked the fumes. Gasoline fumes practically fill my friends house and another house making it unlivable. Tests on my friends property show a shizzle of gasoline on his property and in his aquifer. My friend had to move into an apartment with his family for two years still had to pay his mortgage nothing was covered by insurance and the Gas station's insurance carrier do what insurance companies do best delay dealy delay and didn't pay a dime for 8 years or more. If my friend lived in a 7M home darn straight thats what he should get.
 
RogerT said:
If you own the unit .. why would you say anything to anyone. Just do it and
make sure you do it to code.
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you don't technically own the unit ... a co-op is really a corporation so you really own shares in the building and are given exclusive use of a specific unit.
 
Hmm... And he just sued someone else for 5 mil too. I don't have much sympathy for the guy.
 
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