Lawsuit targets Hendrick

An emotional Rick Hendrick expressed disappointment Saturday
about a lawsuit filed against him by the widow of one of his
employees killed in a 2004 plane crash, calling some of her
claims a "cheap shot" and a personal attack on his family.

Dianne Dorton filed suit earlier this week, saying Hendrick
Motorsports was liable in the death of her husband, Randy. He
was one of 10 people killed in October 2004 when a Hendrick
plane crashed near Martinsville, Va., en route to a NASCAR race.

Her suit claimed Hendrick Motorsports showed "conscious and
intentional disregard" for Randy Dorton's safety, alleging that
company president John Hendrick rejected the pilot's suggestion
to divert to a different airport because of bad weather because
he didn't want to be late for the race. "I don't understand the
attack on my brother - I thought it was a cheap shot, it was
disappointing and not true," Rick Hendrick said.

Killed in the crash were Rick Hendrick's son, brother, two nieces,
two Hendrick employees and an associate, a helicopter pilot for
Tony Stewart and the plane's two pilots. Randy Dorton was the
head engine builder for Hendrick.

Hendrick maintains his brother was a "white-knuckle flier" so
cautious that several pilots have told him John Hendrick had
canceled or delayed many flights because of safety concerns.
He also said John Hendrick never would have put his twin 22-
year-old daughters in danger.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said flight
crew errors probably caused the crash. The NTSB report found
that the crew improperly read instruments and missed a landing
approach to Blue Ridge Airport, resulting in the Beech King Air
200 crashing into fog-shrouded Bull Mountain.

Dianne Dorton's suit also alleges that Hendrick turned his back
on her and has not responded to her requests for help. Hendrick
disputed that, saying he paid Randy Dorton's 2004 bonus, part
of his 2005 salary, a BMW for Dianne Dorton and the insurance on
the car, and offered her constant assistance after the accident.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/13851893.htm

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Note to self: I said they'd blame the pilots. I also said there'd be
lawsuits. I hate being right about that kind of stuff...

Ok, so Mrs Dorton got (apparently) the remainder of his 04 salary and
bonuses, part of his 05 salary, and a paid-for and insured Bimmer (woo-pee).
Where's her mention of life insurance? Why is RH and HMS to blame? RH
himself said the pilots always had the final say on whether to go or hold.
(And without bonafide (non-heresay) proof of any conversations that day
about what to do, will be hard to prove either way.)

I'll tell you why, the (deceased) pilots don't have the bankroll to sue for
that Hendrick does. I don't think RH, JH, or HMS should be held accountable
for Mr/Mrs Dorton's lack of estate planning...which is what this appears to
be boiling down to: "Dianne Dorton's suit also alleges that Hendrick turned
his back on her and has not responded to her requests for help." Was "help
after an untimely death" gauranteed in his contract? I'm afraid this is a
grief stricken woman lashing out, and it is not very becoming of her. RH and
HMS will beat this in court IMO, simply because she's suing the wrong
people. If she wants a nest egg, she's gonna have to sue the pilots'
estates, as they're the ones that made the decision to attempt the approach
and landing that day.

Just as an aside, and since he lost his own brother, nieces and son (other
workers, sponsor rep and an airplane) in the crash, I wonder who RH is going
to sue? Seems he lost a fair amount in that deal too afterall.


"Alan Jones" <alan (AT) alanjones (DOT) us> wrote

I agree. The tone of Dianne's lawsuit is completely unnecessary
and very hurtful to the Hendrick family, who took the biggest loss
of all affected. Sufficient insurance can be expensive for someone
who is constantly traveling in the air. As you said, it looks like
Dianne may have been cutting corners in the risk management
department and lost the gamble. She needs to accept the blame
for any financial woes instead of lashing out at a man who has
taken very good care of her and her late husband.

On Mon, 13 Feb 2006 20:35:33 GMT, "SimRacer"
<nOspaM@simracer68 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Yeah, it is certainly a painful and heartbreaking thing to go through, no
doubt, but unless Dianne knows something about the goings on that day that
we don't, I don't think her suit has any legs to stand on.

I mean really, when it comes all the way down to it, Randy himself could
have said NO that day. What would Hendrick have done? Fired *his* best and
arguably one of THE best engine builders in the sport? I donut thinkso. One
has to apply some common sense with these things, even when beat down with
great grief. Any lawyer that Hendrick would hire, even a less than top tier
one, could beat this easily so long as there aren't any secrets buried out
there that haven't come to light as yet.

"Alan Jones" <alan (AT) alanjones (DOT) us> wrote