Hendrick plane crash lawsuits head to trial
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
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A trial concerning the October 2004 Hendrick Motorsports plane crash is scheduled to begin in January in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C.
The trial involved lawsuits brought by three widows of men killed in the crash, Dianne Dorton, Linda Turner and Tracy Lathram.
At issue is who bears fault for the accident. According to the National Transportation Safety Board and court documents, the crash happened when the pilots overshot the runway and then didn't perform the proper missed-approach procedure. Government officials blame the pilots, while Hendrick and the widows blame, at least in part, the actions of the air-traffic controllers that were also cited in the NTSB report.
Ten people, including team owner Rick Hendrick's brother, son and two nieces, were killed in the plane crash on the way to a Nextel Cup race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Dorton's and Lathram's suits are against Hendrick Motorsports, while the Turner suit is against the U.S. government over the actions of the air-traffic controllers. Dorton has sued the government in a separate suit not currently on the trial calendar.
Turner already has settled a claim against Hendrick Motorsports. Lathram has settled with Hendrick and the government, but Hendrick claims that the government should contribute to its settlement with Lathram.
Dorton is the widow of former Hendrick engine builder Randy Dorton, Turner is the widow of former Hendrick general manager Jeff Turner and Lathram is the widow of Tony Stewart pilot Scott Lathram, who was a passenger on the plane.
The trial for all three suits will begin Jan. 7 or later, depending on the status of other trials on the court calendar. It is estimated a trial will last eight to 14 days.
There are two cases associated with the crash that are not on the trial calendar - the Dorton case against the government and a Hendrick case against the government over whether the government should contribute to a settlement with the estate of Joe Jackson, a DuPont executive also killed in the crash.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Tony Stewart
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