Lieff Global, LLP, Announces That United States District
Court Has Established Schedule For Pre-Trial Proceedings
In Gol Airlines Disaster Lawsuit |
| December
18, 2006, New York, NY – The American law firm
Lieff Global, LLP, announced that United States District
Court Judge Brian M. Cogan today conducted an initial
conference in the Gol Airlines disaster litigation.
Appearing on behalf of families of over twenty victims
were Lieff Global and Lieff Cabraser attorneys Robert
L. Lieff, Steven E. Fineman, Lexi J. Hazam and Nicholas
Diamand. Counsel for defendants ExcelAire Service,
Inc. ("ExcelAire") and Honeywell International
Inc. ("Honeywell") were also present. |
|
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| At the hearing, Judge Cogan set a
prompt schedule for resolution of the important issue of
forum non conveniens, as requested by plaintiffs. The Court
required defendants to file their forum non conveniens
motion by January 22, 2007, and permitted plaintiffs to
proceed immediately with discovery on the issue. Defendants
had requested that no discovery occur until the forum non
conveniens motion was resolved. |
| "We are grateful the Court permitted
the families of the Gol Airlines tragedy to proceed with
their lawsuit without delay," stated Lieff Global attorney
Lexi J. Hazam. "We have assembled a top notch, global
team of attorneys and aviation experts to prosecute the
case, and will vigorously contest any efforts by ExcelAire
and Honeywell to dismiss the action." |
| Brazilian attorney Leonardo Amarante,
whose law firm is working in partnership with Lieff Global,
commented, "Proceeding with the lawsuit in an American
court ensures that the families will have their voices
heard in the United States as to why ExcelAire and Honeywell
bear responsibility for the tragedy and must be held accountable." |
| While Plaintiffs' choice of where
to file suit is generally accepted by United States courts,
a forum non conveniens motion filed by the defendants gives
the Court the discretion to dismiss the claims of non-United
States plaintiffs if the defendants are able to demonstrate
that litigation of plaintiffs’ claims in the U.S.
would result in excessive oppression to the defendants
and outweigh plaintiffs’ convenience. If the motion
is decided in plaintiffs’ favor, the case will proceed
in United States District Court. |
| "Discovery" involves the
exchange of information between parties. As part of plaintiffs’ discovery,
plaintiffs seek to obtain documents and other information
from the defendants to strengthen the case against the
defendants on subjects on which the Court has allowed discovery. |
| One hundred and forty eight passengers
and six crew members died on September 29, 2006, when Gol
Airlines Flight 1907 plunged nose-first into the Amazon
rainforest after colliding with an Embraer Legacy aircraft
operated by ExcelAire. |
| The complaint charges that the pilots
of the ExcelAire jet were flying at an incorrect altitude
at the time of the collision, failed to operate the jet’s
transponder and radio equipment properly, and failed to
maintain communication with Brazilian air traffic control
in violation of international civil aviation standards.
If the pilots of the ExcelAire aircraft had followed these
standards, the collision would not have occurred. |
| At the time of the collision, the
ExcelAire aircraft’s transponder manufactured by
Honeywell was not functioning. A transponder transmits
a plane’s altitude and operates its automatic anti-collision
system. Honeywell shares responsibility for the tragedy,
the complaint alleges, because it defectively designed
the transponder on the ExcelAire jet, and failed to warn
of dangers resulting from foreseeable uses of the transponder. |
| The lawsuit seeks compensatory and
punitive damages against ExcelAire and Honeywell for their
negligence. |
| About Lieff Global |
| Lieff Global has
taken a lead role in representing the families of the victims
of the passengers of the Gol Airlines accident. Lieff Global is
among the largest law firms in the United States that represents
plaintiffs exclusively, and has been recognized by the
prestigious National Law Journal for the last
six years as one of the top plaintiffs’ law firms
in America. |
| In addition to the Gol Airlines accident,
Lieff Global currently
represents aviation accident victims in connection with
the crash of a Helios plane in Greece in August, 2005;
the crash of a China Eastern plane in November 2004 near
Bautou, China; the crash of a Flash Air plane near Sharm
el Sheikh, Egypt in January, 2004; the crash of an Air
Algerie plane in Tamanrasset in March 2003; the crash of
a Mandala plane near Medan, Indonesia in September 2005;
the crash of a West Caribbean Airways plane in Venezuela
in August 2005; and the crash of a Comair Airlines jet
in Lexington, Kentucky in August 2006. |
| To
learn more about Lieff Global,
LLP, and our law firm's experience in representing families
of loved ones who died in aircraft accidents worldwide,
please see visit http://www.globalaviationlaw.com.
For information in Portuguese, please visit http://www.globalaviationlaw.com/golaccident-portuguese.htm. |
| Contact Information For
Families |
| Families whose loved
ones died in the Gol Airlines disaster are welcome to contact
any of the following attorney for information: |
| Leornardo Amarante
by email at amarante@leonardoamarante.com.br or
directly at his office in Brazil: |
Rua Primeiro
de Marco, nº 23
5º andar
Centro - Rio de Janeiro
CEP: 20010.000
Telefax: 2507-4195 |
| Information for families
on their legal rights is available without charge or obligation
and is provided in the strictest confidence. |
| Members of the media
that wish to obtain a copy of the complaint should contact
Brandan De Coteau at bdecoteau@lchb.com. |
| Source/Contact: |
| Leonardo Amarante at telephone 917-361-2384 until December
21, 2006, thereafter please telephone his office in Brazil
or email amarante@leonardoamarante.com.br. |
