Total BS
 

IN BRIEF / CASTAIC LAKE
$10-Million Claim Filed in Man's Boating Death
From Times Staff and Wire Reports

A $10-million wrongful-death claim has been filed against Los Angeles County by the widow and stepson of a man killed in a high-speed boat crash on Castaic Lake.

Kenneth Lane, 41, of La Crescenta was one of four men who died Jan. 11 when the 30-foot boat they were testing flipped over.

Janet Lane and son Christopher Prescott made the claim against the county, which has jurisdiction at the lake, saying that speeding by high-performance boating companies was tolerated by authorities, said attorney Jonathan Cole. A spokesman for the county counsel's office could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
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:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Well, I really can't improve upon your assessment, so I'll reitterate:

Bull****!

There is a link on the Hot Boat site under cats to the news paper article. Provides a bit more info.

And If she wins! I will Guarantee speed restrictions and a whole new outlook on performance boats on lakes, They did it on a lake in Northern NJ, They now have a 40mph speed limit and no noise from open exhaust. After a few High Speed accidents they felt the need to put Laws in place!! :confused

That lake always had a 35MPH speed limit. They looked the other way when HTM was testing boats out there. I got pulled over one time out there and was doing about 65MPH and he just warned me. In all the years I've been out there, they never really inforced the speed limit unless you were being unsafe or there was some other reason for stopping you. Just my experiance.

That is total BS.:mad: Kenneth Lane wouldn't have been in the boat if they were going for a 35 mph ride. He wanted to see they high side of 100. If they had been enforcing on that lake they would've found another one where they didn't. People have to take be responsible for their own actions. I thought he was best friends with the HTM people. How can this suit go on with out dragging them in?

So if the cops hand out tickets their a-holes, and if they let a company doing business good for the community and boating break the law, thier also a-holes. Biggest problem with this country...oh, make it planet.....

NO ACCOUNTABILITY

Its always someone elses fault.

i agree with you to old

HOW!
 

HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BLAME ANYONE IN THIS SITUATION..THESE WERE GROWN MEN NOT KIDS THEY KNEW WHAT RISKS WERE INVOLVED WHEN THEY JUMPED IN THE BOAT THIS WAS IF IM NOT MISTAKEN A 30 FT PROTOTYPE CATAMARAN WITH THE CAPABILITY TO ECLIPSE THE CENTURY MARK.IF ANYBODY THINKS THAT ANY BOAT IS PERFECTLY SAFE AT THIS SPEED THEY ARE VERY WRONG.ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN,UNFORTUNATELY IT DID AND REGRETABLY WE LOOK FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME WHICH IN THIS CASE WOULD BE THE CITY,BUT WHAT THEY DONT UNDERSTAND IS THAT IF THIS WOULDNT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED AT THIS PARTICULAR LAKE,THEY WOULDVE FOUND ANOTHER..IT IS A TRAGEDY YES ,,BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT NO ONE WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN..JUST MY .02 CENTS..

They were trying to break 150 mph -- the day before they did 140 something. I think it is total bull**** that they are trying to get rich at someone else's expence. Yes I agree that it is a terrible loss but why is it always someone else that is to blame. If I choose to go rock climbing and fall it is no one's fault but my own. He got into that boat on his own accord. No one made him. But can you believe that only one of them had a life jacket on.

Man that is sad. If it was not that lake it would have been another. Shame on them.

Jon

two words
 

cashing in

:mad::mad: :mad: :mad:

I can see it now........just how calm Barnegat Bay will be when everyone will have to do 30 mph....:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Oh yeah! No one will want to, so they'll give up boating.....;)

This really is a pathetic situation. Let's see here... I think the wife is more responsible for this than anyone. SHE knew what her husband was doing at this time and said nothing/ did nothing, I hope she gets nothing, I hate pathetic people like this, they suck. You can bet your ass that all the wives knew what was going on. Going out in an extremely fast boat with NO SAFETY gear and no interior is absolutely ludicrous. It's a shame that lawsuits like this even arise.

Unfortunately this is what our nation has become. A letigious nation of non-responsibility. Do whatever the hell you want to do, until something goes wrong. Then find someone else to blame for your actions, as they should've been there to prevent you from doing it. Friggin PATHETIC!!! This truly makes me sick!

What ever happen to the values of a person knowing what they are getting into and accepting the risks and consequences of their actions.

And just yesyerday I heard on the news how approx. 600 people want to get reimbursed for additional costs and time that arose in their commute to NYC after the 9/11 attacks.

This really sad...:(

And the real SAD fact is LA county will probobly settle our of court for a smaller amount, say 2 million instead!:mad: And guess who will foot that bill, LA county taxpayers! I have boated on Castaic many times back in the late 80's and early 90's and the speed laws were loosely inforced, well those days are over, I'm afraid!
MD

Is the problem too many a-holes trying to get rich or too many lawyers telling them they deserve to be rich?

Then they should file suit against the people who were REALLY responsible: Bin Laden and Al Queda. If they can collect - God (or somebody) bless 'em. Crybabies.

Any idiot with a few bucks in their pocket and a typewriter can file a lawsuit. They are also free to make a demand for any amount of money they deem appropriate. Just because they sue does not mean they will win anything. You can bet that the County has some sovereign immunity which will cause this case to be dismissed in short order.

Re: Total BS
 

Here is the crook

One of my favorite song verses from a Don Henley song about our
sue-happy society, he’s referring to William Shakespeare; “Ol’ Billie was right, let’s kill all the lawyers, let’s kill them tonight.”

I don't care who agrees or not. When I am out and going to run over 100, my Lifeline and helmet are on (and my passenger). It's just an old habit from racing. Beside that I am older and more brittle!

I agree 100% BULL****!!!!!!!!, it hurts ALL of us, Jeffery, can we not get a petition goingthat we vote on then post the results and send them to the courts, that should put a monkey wrench into their stupid lawsuit. I agree, people have to take responsibility for their actions, Lets use the power of OSO!!!!! Doug

They ain't got a leg to stand on.

First, there is no doubt in my mind that a lawyer talked them into that suit. I still think he will get zilch, and if LA pays, shame on them.

Second there are two legal doctrines that should make you guys feel better. "Assumption of the risk" means that the victim assumed the risk of his actions, and therefore no one can recover for what happened to him. Also, most states (if not all) have "comparative fault". This means that even if the county was a little lax in enforcement, you must compare the fault of the county to the fault of the victim. The amount of fault assessed to the victim lowers the recovery. (Different states have different formulas on when and how the recovery is affected.)

As for lawyers, there are good ones and bad ones, just like boat mechanics, stockbrokers, accountants, and doctors. (I have defended a few of THOSE.) Even the good ones take on unpopular cases. It reminds me of the saying about the bikers that do the charity runs -- "the good never remembered, the bad never forgotten." The bastard that filed this crap is gonna be remembered a LONG time.

we shouldnt just sit hereon our hands, obviously this incedent is going to call attention to high performance boating, WE DONT NEED ANY ATTENTION!!!!! Sure, it is a bogus suit and they may not get anything, but then again they might.we shold hope they throw it out. We need to do anything we can to discredit this, we dont need the powers that be "looking into" our sportbecause you will start to hear them say things like "BOATS ARE GOING 140 MILES PER HOUR ON OUR LAKES???!!!! WITH PEOPLE ON THEM???!!!!OH MY GOD!!!!WE NEED SOME ENFORCEMENT OUT THERE!!!!!!!AND CHRIST WE DONT NEED ANYMORE GODDAMN 10 MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUITS ON OUR HANDS!!!!!!" I willtry to post a poll but I certainly wouldnt know whereto send the results.........DOUG

I'm with twinn29, lets star a petition or something and let the courts here from the boaters and let them know we don't support this lawsuit.

Hellooo Mr Phklwyer.....
In response to this and another post a few days ago in which you questioned weather I was taking shots at your fello breatheren..
You have to be thinking yourself that this attorney is a TOOL.
What is the logic here? Is it that they feel every nut case with a gripe deserves representation in court or what. I dont get it, you even say yourself (as I would think as well) that there is going to be some kind of "sovergeign immunity" here.
Im not taking shots at you personally (my smiley faces arent working, really). Im really quite interested in what the rational is behind this kind of lawyering?
You seem yourself somewhat irritated by it.

a quote from HotBoat.net
 

posted July 16, 2002 08:01 PM
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Check out the name of the attorney Jonathan Cole. Isn't that the same attorney who has several 120 M.P.H. Hallett ski race boats,
" Judgement Day " etc. Only an attorney would want to profit from something that will have a negative effect on his own sport.
I wonder what the ski racing community will think of this. None of the guys from HTM would want this.

I better stop because this really p**ses me off.

That's really sad if it's true.

Everyone hates attorneys until they need one!:D Just like cops...everyone talks **** about cops until they need one.....This is just a sad case all over...It's just too bad people had to die doing what they loved...and whats worse is others may pay a price because of it.

Nort is right though...theres always been a 35 MPH speed limit at Castaic...theres also a counter-clockwise running rule and....Get this...theres no swimming in that lake!! Yes you heard right...but tell that to all the people skiing, wakeboarding and well....SWIMMING!:rolleyes: As someone said before....Accountability is what it's about...however here it looks as though someone else will be held accountable.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

You hit on the root of all evil in our society today-accountability. And, no one wants to stand up and be accountable for their actions. No one held a gun to those guys heads. Although, it does piss me off that someone of Steve Columbe's (late owner of HTM) stature in the hi perf boating community would act as irresponsibly as he did, traveling at those speeds, illegally, with a boat full of his employees and without the proper safety equipment. He has left a black eye on our sport here in SoCal.

Another wonderful attribute in our society, hypocrisy. Jon Cole is a picture of the virtue as he happens to be (formerly) one of us-an avid high performance boater, owning several 100+ mph marathon race boats. Thanks Jon. I hope someone posts your address!

Lake Castaic
 

This is a very different lake. True its a 35 mph lake but it has places where the speed and test runs being conduted are hid from the officials and the public. Even the pwc's are roped off so that they can not come into contact with the regular boaters.
Its a shame that Mrs Lane in her attempt to get money will be hurting one of her husbands greater loves,Performance Boating!!
Im sure that he told her what they were trying to accomplish on the speed runs afterall they ran them the day before also. Just like Semperfi mention they were runing without not only saftey equiptment but a lot of the interior. We all know the chances that we are taking every time we push the throtles,just like I'm sure they did but thats part of our sport!!
Im truely sorry for the loss of lives however is this law suit really the answer?
Sincerely, Eliminator219:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

It is a very well known fact that the life guards at the lake often look the other way when local regulars come to test there. Probably the most well know magazine test driver in the country visits (or use to visit) the lake on a daily basis to test and tune customer's boats, often at very high speeds. So now these guards, who were simply being nice guys and helping these guys out, are going to be persecuted by the county and the legal system.

If you're talking about Bob Teauge.............he's just one of MANY performance boaters that use (or have used) that lake........including myself. I really can't think of why the lake has a 35MPH limit anyway. I always thought that was weird.

LA Man that Sucks!!! You west Coast Guys are going to feel the restrictions first but it will not take long for the rest of the Country to be Likewise Curtailed .

A County sued for 10 Mill !! A Boat accident is one thing! With the Insurance Companies = Bad! But this will maybe cause the Water front municipalities enact more Boat speed legislation = very very Bad !!


:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

question for someone....
 

I know they found Ken Lane on top of the water and he died of cardiac arrest (sorry if sp is off). Was ken wearing a life jacket? :confused: