Aviation/Personal Injury

Carey v. Spiedie Festival and Balloon Rally, Supreme Court, Broome County (September 12, 1999), involved an interesting and unusual factual setting in which we represented the sponsor of a charity festival and balloon rally. A hot air balloon lost altitude and passed over a highway near Binghamton, New York. As the balloon was crossing the highway, its gondola was struck by a truck which caused a passenger to be thrown from the balloon and suffer serious and permanent injuries. The passenger sued the pilot of the balloon, the driver and owner of the truck and our client, the Spiedie Festival and Balloon Rally. Justice Rose of Supreme Court, Broome County, granted our motion for summary judgment holding that our client could not be held liable for the accident because it was an unincorporated association and had not exercised any control over the hot air balloon.

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