Oregon RV-10 Accident Leads to $35-Million Lawsuit

[Flying again!]

I lived in the UK for over 3 years and in the Netherlands for 4. They do not have near the number of lawsuits for one reason. If you sue and lose, you have to pay all the costs of the person you sued plus court costs.

That forces someone to make sure there is a real case before suing or risk making themselves bankrupt.

Of course this will never happen here since so many lawyers make too much money from the lawsuit culture we have developed in the US.

[tjo]

Originally Posted by DaleB

Oh, no. A lot of attorneys will make a lot of money on this. Everyone else gets screwed.

Yeah, but I bet they have a hard time living with themselves. They make sure that it all looks good on the outside though.

Tim

[jrs14855]

The late John Thorp allegedly was sued three times regarding T18 and was successful in defending all three times. Story at the time was the T18 builders donated the funds for the defense.
Aircraft Spruce and Specialty owns the rights and sells planes for numerous older designs. Apparently they are not very concerned about liability.

[DaleB]

Originally Posted by tjo

Yeah, but I bet they have a hard time living with themselves. They make sure that it all looks good on the outside though.

Nah. If you talk to these guys, they're True Believers. They wouldn't do this for a living if they hadn't already convinced themselves of the "value" of what they do. A lot of them would still be totally in love with themselves no matter what they did.

[Mel]

Originally Posted by az_gila

Mel,
This one was sort of successful, living in West LA at the time I remember the accident and lawsuit.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1097158.html
The insurance company would not pay out because of a fuel system modification and lack of returning to Phase I testing.
I presume the pilot was then held responsible for the garage he destroyed and the DWP power lines.
http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.av...95LA180&rpt=fa

Not sure why you "presume" that the pilot was successfully sued.
The insurance company denied the claim because the first time the aircraft was modified and not re-certificated, the airworthiness certificate became invalid. After that the aircraft could not be legally flown at all, thereby making the insurance invalid.

And I will repeat, if anyone is concerned about this, it would be best to not sell an amateur-built aircraft.

[ijustwannafly]

Originally Posted by Mel

Not sure why you "presume" that the pilot was successfully sued.
The insurance company denied the claim because the first time the aircraft was modified and not re-certificated, the airworthiness certificate became invalid. After that the aircraft could not be legally flown at all, thereby making the insurance invalid.

And I will repeat, if anyone is concerned about this, it would be best to not sell an amateur-built aircraft.

I think if your not concerned about this to some extent you are foolish.

There are not many people i know that start an RV build with the intent of NEVER selling the plane. Matter o fact i know several people that just enjoy building and not flying. So they build planes and sell them almost immediately.

If the builders livelihood is on the hook for say FOREVER that is something vans needs to start making new builders aware of. Obviously they are not going to do this unless one law states that they have to. After hearing that I can never potentially sell my airplane without a high risk of loosing my home someday I'm not sure i would start a build again to be 100% honest. I just don't have the resources to fight a major lawsuit and i can tell you that sometimes life circumstances change. Not everyone can afford to never sell there airplane. What happens if you have a major medical emergency in the family. Your all of a sudden hit with 250K in medical bills that insurance won't pay or some other unforeseen event.
I know tons of builders including myself that spend months deciding to take on the project. Calculating this and that. Finances, shop space tools etc
Spread sheets after spread sheets.

You never hear of builders considering that they can never sell the plane they build. Its just never really been discussed at length to my understanding.

Maybe something some of us should of factored in initially before deciding to build. Myself highly included

[DeltaRomeo]

Just a reminder that every keystroke that is typed in here is available to both sides of the legal system.

Me? I'm shutting up.

v/r,
dr

[rv7boy]

Wow, I've been out of town for a few days and didn't check VAF forums much, and today I check in and this thread is very active. Not much to add here, but I am interested in the different viewpoints. Also, very sad deal for the pilot's family, regardless of how the legal matters are settled.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Among the tragedies of this tragedy is the pilot didn't listen to an A&P who saw him engaging in the incorrect and dangerous practice and did it anyway.

In learning how to build airplanes, we have to listen to the people who know more than us, and we have to be better at determining who those people are.

Also a useful talent when trying to read about a lawsuit. :*)

[Jesse]

As another general point about lawsuits and insurance, having insurance does somewhat protect you, but having insurance also invites lawsuits because insurance companies like to settle quickly, and they have deep pockets. A small company with shallow pockets and no insurance is much less likely to be sued because the lawyers know there is not much available.