Copterline facing partial defeat at court hearing in USA

The Finnish helicopter operator Copterline has suffered a setback in the legal proceedings in which it is claiming massive compensation for the crash of its Sikorsky S-76 helicopter from the manufacturer of the aircraft, and from Sikorsky's trading company HSI.
      The company's S-76, on a scheduled flight to Helsinki, crashed into the sea off Tallinn in August 2005, killing all 14 people on board.
      At the end of last year, Copterline filed a suit against Sikorsky in the New York Eastern District Court.
     
Following demands by Sikorsky and HSI, the court has now decided that the correct place for the handling of the lawsuit is the District Court of the State of Connecticut, the home state of both Sikorsky and HSI.
      Judge Leo Glasser of the New York Eastern Court could not find one single valid justification for handling the case in New York, even though the plaintiff - Copterline - had found one reason: the rotor servo which is the centre of the dispute had been sent by HSI from Connecticut to Helsinki via the JFK airport in New York City.
      However, Glasser did not find this fact as a sufficient reason to hear the case in New York. According to him, HSI has no office, no staff, and not even a phone number in the State of New York.
      Consequently, Glasser noted that his court has no jurisdiction over HSI in this matter.
     
Copterline’s lawyers did not absolutely oppose the transfer of jurisdiction, either, even though it was a clear disappointment to the plaintiff.
      Copterline is requesting that the case be tried before a jury. However, several experiences from an American legal praxis prove that a jury takes up a positive attitude towards a defendant who is also one of the most important employers in the state.
     
Copterline is seeking compensation worth tens of millions of euros for the accident, which resulted in the deaths of 14 people in August 2005. According to both Copterline and the board of inquiry, the crash was caused by a fault in the rotor servo of the helicopter, designed by Sikorsky and sold by HSI.
      The families of the perished pilots of the crashed helicopter are seeking damages from virtually the same defendants in New York.
      Sikorsky and HSI are making efforts to transfer even these proceedings to Connecticut, but the decision has not been made as yet.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Copterline to resume service to Tallinn (6.9.2007)
  Loosened servo piston plasma coating confirmed as cause of Copterline crash (8.8.2007)
  Pilots´ next of kin seek to combine their case with that of Copterline in New York Court (15.5.2007)
  Fourteen passengers and crew dead after helicopter crashes in the sea off Estonian coast (10.8.2005)

Links:
  2005 Tallinn Sikorsky S-76 crash (Wikipedia)
  Copterline