St Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 20 April 1991

From The President - By Mike Piccirilli

Dear Members,

SUBJECT: MEMO TO ST. LOUIS FLYING CLUB MEMBERS

ENCL:

1. Monthly Statement
2. Ken Nebrlg letter
3. Charlle McMullln letter
4. Draft negotlatlon letter
5. Insurance Questlonalre

1. This has been a busy month. First off there were a lot of expenses this month, Encl. 1. The major expense was insurance which went up slightly from last year. I'd appreciate if each of you would take the time to fill out Encl. 5 and return it to me with your payment next month. That will ensure that our lnsurance is valid.

2. The biggest item affecting the club now is the continuing saga of our lawsuit with St. Louis County. Each of you received Charlie's letter stating that the previous trial was overturned and we have the chance to try the case again. Quite a few of you have called me and Charlie wrote me a follow-up letter which is Encl. 3. A sldenote of interest; Ken Nebelg, who was in charge of moving the C-172 when it was damaged is back working for Spirit, see Encl. 2.

3. My thoughts on the lawsuit begin with the expenses the club has incurred to date; expert witness $500, Charlle's expenses $182.35, damage estimate $70, and photo enlargements $12.69 (total $765.04). I was of the impresslon that the agreement with Charlie to try our case was that if it was settled out of court we would not be charged but if it went to trial and we won, Charlie would receive 25% (his regular rate ls 33%). I was naive to think that there would be no expense to the club unless we won the lawsuit. In Encl. 3, Charlie states that most of the expenses would not have to be repeated but if we do decide to go with a new trial, I think we need to be clear what expenses the club would be liable for and what if any expenses would be paid out of Charlie's %.

4. I am not convinced we are in much better shape to win a new lawsuit than we were the old lawsuit. I believe that the main reasons we lost the original suit was exageration of loss claim, lack of consistency in member's testimony and a defense lawyer who was very good at confusing the jury with numerous technical objections. I'm sure we could get our act together better in a second lawsuit but is it worth the wait and expense.

5. The blackmail threat of having the FAA ground the C-172 really upsets me. I don't like the idea of the FAA coming close to the C-172 for numerous items which might not meet their scrutiny. I feel the firewall is airworthy and am willing to take that chance. I will not allow someane to influence my decision by blackmailing me!

6. Bottom line is that I recommend we try to negotiate with St. Louls County by working thru Ken Nebrig. I have drafted a realistic offer to reimburse us for our damages (see Encl. 4). I would like to send it to Ken by 1 May and give him a month to accept it. If he does, we are $5,580 ahead. He will probably counter the offer or reject it. I would need to have the club members allow me to negotiate a settlement. If this doesn't work, I'm for filing a new lawsuit against them.

7. I would like each of you to call me with your decision on which of the following options to follow:

1. Send Encl. 4 and negotiate a settlement
2. File a new lawsuit for $15,000
3. Forget it
4. Something else

Please call me at home, #537-3260, with your choice by April 30.

Sincerely,

Mike Piccirilli

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