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West 30 Street Heliport Accident Triggers Demand For No Press on Call at SDNY Denied

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - The Source

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Aug 7 –   Ingrid Wiegand was riding her bicycle on Manhattan's West Side on 12th Avenue when a helicopter from the West 30th Street Heliport flew just over her, sending a down-draft of air which knocked her off her bike. She sued.  

 On August 7 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Denise L. Cote held a telephone proceeding and Inner City Press called it. Things got strange quickly, so Inner City Press began live tweeting: 

"Inner City Press just called in to the case, not listed as a settlement conference. Deputy asked, Who just joined? Inner City Press. Lawyer said, What is your relation to this case? Press. Lawyers: We want you off. I: It's not a settlement conference. It's open

Now 2:09. The complaint in the case describes a helicopter spinning out of control on 12th Avenue and 30th Street. What's so secret?  Nothing in the docket of the case identifies this as being about settlement. In fact, there's a motion to dismiss pending. So why would the lawyers want the press thrown off the call - that is, out of the "courtroom"? 

Some judges in the SDNY make a point of saying, I do not monitor who is on the line - it is an open courtroom. This time, the deputy asked, Who just called in? So Inner City Press answered. Twice. Then the lawyer said, we want it closed, and I said, it's open.

 Judge Cote comes on and says, this is open.  The lawyers don't even make an argument. It was pure abuse and attempt to intimidate the press. Turns out they are dismissing the action without prejudice. No subject matter jurisdiction. Oh..."

Digging in the docket to try to understand the outrageous position of these lawyers that their Federal proceeding could be private, we find an August 7 letter from Air Pegasus Heliport and Abigail Trenk's lawyer at Melito & Adolfsen in the Woolworth Building foreshadowing the dismissal without prejudice.


Other named defendants: Amazing Flight LLC, Bay Crane Services of Connecticut, HBH Aircraft LLC and NYON LLC. We'll have more on this.

The case is Weigand v. Air Pegasus Heliport, Inc. et al., 20-cv-2049 (Cote) 

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