Thu, Apr 29, 2004
But Will Profit If Other Suits Are Successful
Communications tower
owner SpectraSite has dropped its lawsuit against the Canadian
widow of a pilot who crashed into its tower three years ago. But
don't think the company did so out of the kindness of its
heart.
"It was actually a misunderstanding of Canadian law,"
Jean-Francois Lebrun, Canadian spokesman for the North
Carolina-based company, told the Canadian Press. "They (Spectra
officials) have given orders to their lawyers today to dismiss the
case against the estate and they'll go strictly with the insurance
company."
Instead, SpectraSite will benefit from the other lawsuits already filed by broadcasters against the
estate of Gilbert Paquett. If they win, SpectraSite
automatically wins as well.
Three years ago this month, his Cessna slammed into a broadcast
tower in central Quebec. His body and the wreckage remained tangled
in the tower's structure for five days until a demolition crew was
able to recover them.
But that still leaves four other lawsuits pending against widow
Francoise Jolin, who said she was stunned to learn that she and her
three college-age children are the targets of $4.1 million in
claims.
"It's a very sad story," said Lebrun, "and we didn't want to put
any extra pressure on her or extra grief. She didn't need that but
it's done now and we are trying to do better."
In a statement released to ANN, SpectraSite president Stephen
Clark apologized for filing the suit in the first place. "Our
deepest sympathy remains with the family of Mr. Paquette," he
wrote.
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