Pilots grounded by suits

TangoWhiskey said:
Oh, that's rich! JCM is not anti-aviation, just anti-anybody-else-aviation:
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This is sounding like they just want to keep the stalkerazzi away from taking photos from a balloon of Angelina laying out by the pool. Or, they're just retaliating for the helicopter flights complaints from the neighbors.
 
Gary F said:
....

I was thinking the same thing. Are they being properly represented? I wonder if their attorney has been corrupted. Another explanation is that the plaintiff's attorneys are really good at running up the defense bill. Lawyers here please explain.

Barrett filed for personal bankruptcy last year, leaving the balloon company to his wife alone. He blames the more than $130,000 in legal bills their company's run up fighting the JCM lawsuit.

What did he get for that? I thought the deposition and subpoena thing works both ways. It should be able to get them to disclose the details of some sensitive information they do not want publicized or force them to lie to the court. That might come in handy.


Absolutely.

I suspect that this place is destined to be a resort for the ultra wealthy like the Hollywood elite. This legal bullying must not be allowed to persist.
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Some very good questions. I'm not sure how his legal bills ran that high especially since the Suit was filed just about 4 months ago. In my world those bills are astronomic in such a short time. That is a serious fraggin bill to have been generated in only 4 months. I just don't get that.

The deposition thing does work both ways but if the Plaintiff is a financial goliath it may be a drop in the bucket for them. I believe there may be something significant here that is not being reported.

Palmpilot said:
Maybe a class action suit would allow them to pool their resources, so that no one person has to foot the legal bills.
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Class action is where there are many plaintiffs and few defendants, This is the other way around.

Palmpilot said:
Is there any way that the defendants could force the lawsuits to be joined together, so that they could pool their resources to defend against the suits?
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Where I practice there is.

PittsDriver said:
This is sounding like they just want to keep the stalkerazzi away from taking photos from a balloon of Angelina laying out by the pool. Or, they're just retaliating for the helicopter flights complaints from the neighbors.
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Could be:dunno:. I suppose if a balloonist kept swooping down over the compound to 50' AGL I'd get pretty ticked too but they are suing many more than just one person, crop dusters as well. Besides correct me if I'm wrong but ya can't steer a balloon. I suppose you could launch in a location where the wind is destined to take you over the property.
 
AdamZ said:
Class action is where there are many plaintiffs and few defendants, This is the other way around.
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I was talking about a countersuit against the plaintiff's helicopter operations.

Besides that, since the defendants were apparently operating legally, and have obviously suffered financial losses over this, would there be any merit in a class action countersuit for abuse of process?
 
AdamZ said:
Some very good questions. I'm not sure how his legal bills ran that high especially since the Suit was filed just about 4 months ago. In my world those bills are astronomic in such a short time. That is a serious fraggin bill to have been generated in only 4 months. I just don't get that.
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Where are you getting the 4 months figure? I thought the suit was nearly two in the making, both from this quote from the article, and a comment from one of the balloonists in an article's "comments" section.

Through a lawsuit filed in March 2009 against local balloon companies, individual balloonists, and a pest control flight operator, the farm's owner, JCM Farming Inc., has sued virtually all low-flying air traffic out of the sky.
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Palmpilot said:
I was talking about a countersuit against the plaintiff's helicopter operations.

Besides that, since the defendants were apparently operating legally, and have obviously suffered financial losses over this, would there be any merit in a class action countersuit for abuse of process?
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I think that you can file a lawsuit against anybody for any reason except for filing a frivolous lawsuit. I wonder why. Still waiting for some in depth analysis from one of the lawyers who frequent this message board.
 
Gary F said:
There are a lot of pilots in California so it might be possible to get a large number of planes to participate, 20 or more would be great. I bet they can photograph the tail numbers of anything flying below about 5000 feet so I would use a rental or fly at night. They will sue you even if you are above the legal minimum.
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Problem is, that last sentence. And if you use a rental, well, you can kiss that FBO goodbye 'cuz they're gonna get dragged into the suit as well.

A nice 1000 foot overflight at night with takeoffs and landings from an airport that has reasonably heavy traffic but no (or a closed) tower... And maybe pour out a 5-gal bucket of rotten fish at just the right time so that the place stinks... :D

BTW, I doubt Angelina will patronize such a place - She's a pilot, after all.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Where are you getting the 4 months figure? I thought the suit was nearly two in the making, both from this quote from the article, and a comment from one of the balloonists in an article's "comments" section.
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The copy of the complaint was stamped October 10, 2010. That was about 4 months ago.

Gary F said:
I think that you can file a lawsuit against anybody for any reason except for filing a frivolous lawsuit. I wonder why. Still waiting for some in depth analysis from one of the lawyers who frequent this message board.
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Gary your right it is a fundamental problem with not just tort law but really almost any kind of Civil law. In one of the other threads someone posted that some unstable woman sued Sean Combs for among other things causing 9/11.

The filing process is at best done before a counter clerk who takes the papers makes sure they have the basic info but does not thoroughly review them, they really don't have the ability to do that. Then of course with the modern age many jurisdictions have electronic filing so the first real opportunity to challange does not come until after the defendant has been served then there is a process for Summary Judgment in most venues. I can't give much of an analysis as to whats going on in this case because all we have is a few newspaper articles and I try not to put to much stok in them for factual accuracy.

As I said above theoretically if the balloons are dipping very low over the compound I think I used 50' as an example they may have an issue but thats clearly not all there is to this. The Complaint lends itself to a Clive Cussler Novel which is why my brow is furrowed on this one.

By the way you certainly can file a law suit against someone for filing a frivilous law suit against you.
 
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flyingcheesehead said:
Problem is, that last sentence. And if you use a rental, well, you can kiss that FBO goodbye 'cuz they're gonna get dragged into the suit as well.

A nice 1000 foot overflight at night with takeoffs and landings from an airport that has reasonably heavy traffic but no (or a closed) tower... And maybe pour out a 5-gal bucket of rotten fish at just the right time so that the place stinks... :D

BTW, I doubt Angelina will patronize such a place - She's a pilot, after all.
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I own my own plane but am not interested in flying it all of the way out there. I will be attending a conference in Arizona soon, this may offer an opportunity. The FBO that rents me an airplane may get ****ed off but as long as I am flying legally and within the restrictions of the rental contract I don't see how I can get in trouble. The FBO's insurance should get them a good lawyer to defend against the frivolous lawsuit as I would be above the minimum altitude by a comfortable margin.
 
AdamZ said:
The copy of the complaint was stamped October 10, 2010. That was about 4 months ago.



Gary your right it is a fundamental problem with not just tort law but really almost any kind of Civil law. In one of the other threads someone posted that some unstable woman sued Sean Combs for among other things causing 9/11.

The filing process is at best done before a counter clerk who takes the papers makes sure they have the basic info but does not thoroughly review them, they really don't have the ability to do that. Then of course with the modern age many jurisdictions have electronic filing so the first real opportunity to challange does not come until after the defendant has been served then there is a process for Summary Judgment in most venues. I can't give much of an analysis as to whats going on in this case because all we have is a few newspaper articles and I try not to put to much stok in them for factual accuracy.

As I said above theoretically if the balloons are dipping very low over the compound I think I used 50' as an example they may have an issue but thats clearly not all there is to this. The Complaint lends itself to a Clive Cussler Novel which is why my brow is furrowed on this one.

By the way you certainly can file a law suit against someone for filing a frivilous law suit against you.
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That's good to know. It looks like there are a number of defendants and perhaps they will pool resources to fight this. I wonder if they can get a fair trial in the local courts. I would not be surprised if the plaintiff has strong local connections.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
And if you use a rental, well, you can kiss that FBO goodbye 'cuz they're gonna get dragged into the suit as well.
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I have noticed that rental operators have no trouble determining who was renting their planes on any given date and time
 
AdamZ said:
By the way you certainly can file a law suit against someone for filing a frivilous law suit against you.
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Do such lawsuits prevail often enough for this to be a worthwhile strategy?
 
Palmpilot said:
I have noticed that rental operators have no trouble determining who was renting their planes on any given date and time
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That is only an issue if you do something illegal or want to keep renting. I doubt that you can otherwise be punished.
 
Palmpilot said:
I have noticed that rental operators have no trouble determining who was renting their planes on any given date and time
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Not always. It can be hit or miss. It's REALLY annoying when you show up to fly with a student and find that one of the last three renters damaged the aircraft and didn't bother to tell anyone, much less 'fess up so that the next person wouldn't be possibly endangered.

Ryan
 
I smell a Grumman Air Force strafing run. Complete with flour bag bombing.
 
Gary F said:
That is only an issue if you do something illegal or want to keep renting. I doubt that you can otherwise be punished.
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Hasn't JCM proven that you can be sued into bankruptcy for doing things that are legal?
 
Hmm, secret compound growing secret "super foods" with armed guards and dogs?

Where's Janet Reno when we need her? :wink2: :hairraise: :eek:
 
Palmpilot said:
Hasn't JCM proven that you can be sued into bankruptcy for doing things that are legal?
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If they come after me for doing something legal my insurance company will vigorously defend me. At some point AOPA may get involved if enough pilots get abused by this plaintiff. Since they have enough money to file frivolous lawsuits they may become a target for filing them. It might be possible to get a law firm to take on the plaintiff for a contingency fee, they are obviously very wealthy.
 
denverpilot said:
Hmm, secret compound growing secret "super foods" with armed guards and dogs?

Where's Janet Reno when we need her? :wink2: :hairraise: :eek:
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Are they developing spores? Can spores be used as weapons? From what I understand, the owner died. Who is behind this? Is this another secret government prison?
ApacheBob
 
denverpilot said:
Hmm, secret compound growing secret "super foods" with armed guards and dogs?

Where's Janet Reno when we need her? :wink2: :hairraise: :eek:
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Let's see ...

If somebody were to interpret what they're doing as somehow infringing on a patent for putting lines on online maps;

And if what an Oregon flight-planning-software company is doing might somehow infringe on a Franken-plant patent ...

This could be fun to watch!

:devil:
 
There's also a SLAPP law in California which may come down hard on these pay porn guys who sued free sites to get rid of the free competition:
A California Appeals court has dismissed the case as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit — an action designed to censor free speech.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011...nfair-competition-to-pay-sites-appeals-court/
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Too bad there isn't a law to protect against suits against free airspace. If anybody deserved a SLAPP it's those "olive" guys.
Oh, and : http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1117/can-i-declare-a-no-flight-zone-over-my-house
 
ApacheBob said:
Are they developing spores? Can spores be used as weapons? From what I understand, the owner died. Who is behind this? Is this another secret government prison?
ApacheBob
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They are making Soylent Green.
 
Anthony said:
They are making Soylent Green.
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180px-Soylentgreen.gif
 
JeffDG said:
180px-Soylentgreen.gif
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I loved that Simpsons episode. Heston did well in the late 60's and early 70's with some sci fi. I remember him running around with that silly hard hat in Soylent Green screaming Soylent Green is people. LOL.
 
Anthony said:
I loved that Simpsons episode. Heston did well in the late 60's and early 70's with some sci fi. I remember him running around with that silly hard hat in Soylent Green screaming Soylent Green is people. LOL.
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Didn't Heston cry "Let my people go - when I am finished!" before parting the Red Sea in order to get to the Sistine Chapel so he could paint its ceiling depicting apes inheriting the earth?

Uh - sorry - what was this thread about?
 
Jim Logajan said:
Didn't Heston cry "Let my people go - when I am finished!" before parting the Red Sea in order to get to the Sistine Chapel so he could paint its ceiling depicting apes inheriting the earth?

Uh - sorry - what was this thread about?
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and then said "from my cold dead hands..."

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AdamZ said:
Those greedy attorneys! Sticking up for peoples rights for free sheesh:D

Good on them!!!!!!:thumbsup:
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My faith in the legal profession has been restored, at least a little. I hope they file a lawsuit for filing frivolous lawsuits and win big.
 
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Jim Logajan said:
Didn't Heston cry "Let my people go - when I am finished!" before parting the Red Sea in order to get to the Sistine Chapel so he could paint its ceiling depicting apes inheriting the earth?

Uh - sorry - what was this thread about?
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That's too funny. Remember him against Anthony Zerbe in "The Omega Man"? He had that submachine gun with the flashlight taped to it. LOL. Heston is one of my favorites.

"Get your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!"

I have to say when I saw the title of this thread I had to laugh. I pictured a bunch of guys in suits grounding pilots.
 
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