Leicester City's Thai Owners Seek £2.15B from Helicopter Makers Over 2018 Crash

[Samh]

1 hour ago, Digitalbanana said:

What does the Channel Tunnel have to do with any of this?

Leonardo is a publicly traded company - today valued at 15.7 billion on London stock exchange.

Just pointing out what £4.5 billion can buy. The entire Leonardo company is 15.7 billion pounds I take it but that would be the whole company not the helicopter division.

[Samh]

21 minutes ago, Lopburikid said:

If the Family do win, the company will either appeal or claim bankruptcy. 

In a UK court I don't see the family winning. I take it the £2.15 billion is only for Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The others involved don't get anything.

[Samh]

47 minutes ago, madmitch said:

They may have a case but the amount is a joke.

 

King Power have continued to trade since the death of the founder and any loss of earnings during that period is most likely down to COVID and the fact that airport use was minimal 

 

UK courts don't offer these sort of amounts; that sum, not would Italian courts; that amount would even be excessive in the USA! And I doubt they would purchase insurance to that level. I'm no aviation liability expert but I doubt there's market capacity to write £2.5bn.

The accident happened 6 years ago now so it will be very easy to see whether the value of sales went down. The was one whole year before covid had any impact so easy to spot a trend or not.

[TheFishman1]

Wasn’t his young Thai girlfriend also killed in the helicopter accident

[Samh]

Seems that there has already been a case brought. On 26 October 2021, the families of the pilots launched a legal case at the District Court of Massachusetts in the United States, suing Raytheon for damages. The family alleged that Raytheon "negligently designed, manufactured, assembled and sold the Tail Rotor Actuator such that the Accident Aircraft's Tail Rotor Actuator control shaft was subject to disconnection from the actuator lever mechanism". I can't find confirmation.

[Samh]

22 minutes ago, TheFishman1 said:

Wasn’t his young Thai girlfriend also killed in the helicopter accident

It only mentions he and two members of staff "It stopped at London Heliport to collect three additional passengers—Srivaddhanaprabha and two members of his staff—before departing at 14:43 BST " The pilot had his girl friend onboard but she was Polish.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, jcmj said:

They may have responsibility but no where near that amount. Good job Lawyers. Hike it up so you get more. 

I wonder if they are charging a set fee or a % of the claim?

[Samh]

17 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I wonder if they are charging a set fee or a % of the claim?

UK doesn't usually go in for percentage of the claim. It is based on a fee for the work done. I have never heard of a set fee, based on the actual work and of course the other side's fees if you lose.

[kinyara]

They are big in horse racing in the UK, if that side of things is going as well as their football team perhaps they need an injection of cash.

[Moonlover]

14 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

If the AAIB apportioned blame to the crash, and resulting deaths of those on board the helicopter, due to helicopter defect then they may have a claim. The amount would be in question. Remains to be seen.

 

It seems  the AAIB have already blamed the manufacturer's of the helicopter for the crash.

 

https://www.stewartslaw.com/news/helicopter-manufacturer-leonardo-could-have-averted-leicester-city-football-club-helicopter-disaster-says-concerning-air-safety-report/

[Moonlover]

4 hours ago, Samh said:

It only mentions he and two members of staff "It stopped at London Heliport to collect three additional passengers—Srivaddhanaprabha and two members of his staff—before departing at 14:43 BST " The pilot had his girl friend onboard but she was Polish.

The pilot's girlfriend was also the co-pilot.

[BusyB]

9 hours ago, Samh said:

But to his dependents they are still worth $4.9 billion. Why should his dependents get an additional £2.15 billion?

 

Because if the claim is justified Leonardo knew about the design flaw and didn't modify affected models nor advise operators.

 

Personally I think managers responsible for decisions and collusion like that should face extended periods in jail.

 

And yes Boeing board I'm looking at you. I am still volcanically enraged about the decision not to let pilots know of essential flight characteristic and control modifications in order to save a few poxy bucks. 

[kiwikeith]

21 hours ago, jcmj said:

They may have responsibility but no where near that amount. Good job Lawyers. Hike it up so you get more. 

You can always come down, but can't go up

[wavodavo]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

But to his dependents they are still worth $4.9 billion. Why should his dependents get an additional £2.15 billion?

I wonder  how much the family got in life insurance claims.???

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

Please demonstrate how the companies that he controlled would suffer loss of earnings because of the helicopter crash. In the UK a dependent, ie child or wife, can claim loss of future earnings. I am no lawyer but I can't wait to see how that goes down in a UK court.

Very easy to understand how a company started and guided by him, the success of which may have been entirely due to him, could suffer future losses in success due to his not being there because of his premature death caused by the manufacturer of his helicopter.

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

Loss of earnings because he died, may be in a Thai court. I think that would be laughed out of court in the UK.

Good for you.  I bow to your greater legal knowledge.

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

How on Earth can any sane lawyer think that the loss or earnings would equate to £2.15 billion for a company whose total value is $4.9 billion.

From where did you get the $4.9bn valuation for Vichai's companies and commercial interests?

[mokwit]

I would have thought the helicopter was "bought as seen", caveat emptor seems to apply in UK law. Why didn't they check for the purported non implementation in the spec when buying?

 

If the company had said it was implemented but wasn't, that would be an altogether different case, but it is not the case.

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

No I dont think the loss of the CEO would have any long term impact anymore than had he dropped dead from a heart attack.

There's a difference between the key man in a company dying as a result of natural causes and his death being caused prematurely by a third party!

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

Not sure the UK has "punitive" damages.

It seems that you're the only one banging on about punitive damages.  Where was that mentioned in connection with the suit that has been filed?

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Samh said:

Punitive damages in the UK:

"punitive damages are available in UK law, but they are rare and awarded only in certain circumstances:

• Outrageous conduct: Punitive damages are typically awarded for particularly egregious conduct.

• Wilful torts: Punitive damages are available for torts that involve intentional wrongdoing, such as defamation, trespass, assault, or deceit.
• Proportionate awards: Punitive damages are usually modest, around £15,000 to £20,000.
• Conservative courts: UK courts are generally more conservative and focus on compensating the plaintiff rather than punishing the defendant.
• Commercial disputes: Punitive damages are rarely awarded in commercial disputes, where damages are usually compensatory

Looks like they onto a dead duck with that one.

Looks like they're not mentioned in the legal action so the duck's health is irrelevant.

[Liverpool Lou]

19 hours ago, madmitch said:

UK courts don't offer these sort of amounts; that sum, not would Italian courts; that amount would even be excessive in the USA! And I doubt they would purchase insurance to that level. I'm no aviation liability expert but I doubt there's market capacity to write £2.5bn.

No courts anywhere "offer" damages amounts!  There is no menu from which selected damages can be selected.

 

"I'm no aviation liability expert..."

Really?

[Liverpool Lou]

19 hours ago, Lopburikid said:

If the Family do win, the company will either appeal or claim bankruptcy. 

...or it's insurers will pay out.

[Liverpool Lou]

19 hours ago, Samh said:

Just pointing out what £4.5 billion can buy. The entire Leonardo company is 15.7 billion pounds I take it but that would be the whole company not the helicopter division.

The suit will not be against just one division of the company, it is against Leonardo S.p.A.

[Liverpool Lou]

17 hours ago, Samh said:

UK doesn't usually go in for percentage of the claim. It is based on a fee for the work done. I have never heard of a set fee, based on the actual work and of course the other side's fees if you lose.

"I have never heard of..."

There does seem to be a lot of legal aspects that you have never heard of!

 

"UK doesn't usually go in for percentage of the claim".

Really?   Where did you get that from?   You do know that "the UK" is not bringing the suit, don't you? 

[Samh]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"I have never heard of..."

There does seem to be a lot of legal aspects that you have never heard of!

 

"UK doesn't usually go in for percentage of the claim".

Really?   Where did you get that from?   You do know that "the UK" is not bringing the suit, don't you? 

Fixed fee legal cases are rare in the UK as you know. Usually only on accident claims where the claimant doesn't have bottomless pockets. The fees are high so most of what the claimant wins if successful is eaten up in fees.

"Really?   Where did you get that from?   You do know that "the UK" is not bringing the suit, don't you? " I have no idea what you are talking about. The family are bringing the case to court in the UK right? Then fees will be based on actual costs incured. Who said anything about the UK bringing the case.

[Samh]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The suit will not be against just one division of the company, it is against Leonardo S.p.A.

Agree

[Samh]

15 hours ago, Moonlover said:

It seems  the AAIB have already blamed the manufacturer's of the helicopter for the crash.

 

https://www.stewartslaw.com/news/helicopter-manufacturer-leonardo-could-have-averted-leicester-city-football-club-helicopter-disaster-says-concerning-air-safety-report/

I also read in a report that no recommendation were made to Leonardo which I found odd. What you attached was a quote from from a third party and not the actual crash investigation report so may be out of context. I was searching for something definitive but haven't found anthing yet. I will keep digging.

 

[Samh]

https://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/06-09-2023-leonardo-statement-on-aaib-formal-report

 

Note "AAIB report has no recommended actions for Leonardo
The AAIB has not directed any Recommended Actions to Leonardo. The AAIB Final Report rightly concludes that Leonardo complied with all regulatory requirements in both the design and manufacture of the AW169. "

 

I would have thought if Leonardo were at fault then there would have been recommended actions. I am a little surprised that the fault was not found by the operator during routine maintenance.

 

I guess we will have to wait and see.

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, Samh said:

I would have thoughtIMO if Leonardo were at fault then there would have been recommended actions. I am a little surprised that the fault was not found by the operator during routine maintenance.

 

There are 3 bullets points in that article that are aimed directly at Leonardo so they cannot be regarded as not culpable IMO.

 

Regarding your point above, components such the coupling that failed can rarely be checked by eyeball inspection only. They would have to be removed and given an 'in depth' inspection. Operators follow maintenance guides lines as laid down by the manufactures. If there was no call for such an inspection, then failure or potential failure would go undetected. Once again, fingers point at Leonardo.