Helicopter crash damages trial starts
In U.S. District Court in Camden, Trump’s lawyers argue that Agusta, the manufacturer of a helicopter that crashed Oct. 10, 1989, killing three executives of his New Jersey hotel casino business, are responsible for damages to the business. The suit alleges that the manufacturer knew that the rotors were defective, failed to take even minimal steps to correct the problem and thus defrauded Trump through wanton and outrageous misconduct. Trump says the crash caused his casinos to lose revenue, increased operating costs, including the price of hiring new executives. The heirs of the victims received about $1.6 million from their employment contracts with Trump. While Judge Berry expresses skepticism about the case, Trump’s lawyers cite a 1950 New Jersey Supreme Court decision that reads:
of course an employer…is free to maintain any (lawsuit) against the seller of an article for breach of a warranty of its fitness
Augusta’s attorney:
[L]ook past Trump’s claim of economic damages at what this really is . . . a wrongful-death action
Berry gives the lawyers a week to prepare further arguments.