January 11, 2005 October is Koufax Pledge Drive month

Frivolity

I am always on the lookout for examples of actual frivolous lawsuits instead of the made up variety. A new candidate follows.

The New York Times has an article about the super rich paying $250,000 for 250 square foot condominiums in Idaho’s Sun Valley, not because they wish to use the condo, but rather because owning it permits them to park near the best ski lift. Buried in the article is the following gem:

The scramble among the very wealthy to acquire all the possible comforts of excess — and access — is a familiar story in Sun Valley these days... One of the private jet owners, the California construction magnate Ronald N. Tutor, recently sued the local airport, Friedman Memorial in Hailey, for not allowing his customized Boeing 737 to land because officials feared its weight would damage the small runways. Mr. Tutor claimed that his constitutional right to travel was being infringed upon.

He lost his lawsuit, but tensions remain over whether Sun Valley should embrace and reflect the extravagances of its wealthiest residents, or stay on the more low-key end of the nation's expensive ski resorts.


His constitutional right to travel includes the right to ruin the local airport runway with his private, customized Boeing 737? Please.

Posted by Dwight Meredith at January 11, 2005 10:34 PM | TrackBack
Comments

...the solution to Mr. Tutor's personal constitutional crisis should be obvious, were his mind not so clouded with that thick overwhelming sense of personal privelege: he can dip into that fat wallet of his and pay to repave the runways so they have the structural strength to support his private customized 737. For that matter, he could probably do it himself since he owns a giant public works construction firm...

Posted by: Jack K. at January 12, 2005 10:50 AM

Jack:

I think he should just buy a smaller plane or, for that matter, take the bus.

Posted by: dwight Meredith at January 12, 2005 11:52 AM

For what it's worth, I live in the Milwaukee metro area, poplation ca. 1.5 million, and our airport, Mitchell International, cannot handle 747s. Not sure if it's weight or if the runways are too short...

Posted by: Aaron at January 12, 2005 01:14 PM

Constitutional Right to Travel?

You are kidding me, right? Is that real? Cuz if so, I am gonna get ready to SUE! There are many places that those who cannot drive cannot get to. Not even if one is willing to shell out $100 for a 40-minute car ride, which is literally highway robbery.

I can't visit my mom without her assistance cuz she lives in rural PA where even the car services won't go except in the summer. I can't go to a piece of land that I actually own in CO for the same reason.

Of course, I have never thought of others bending around my needs, but I guess I just am not rich or powerful enough to think that way.

Posted by: joshowitz at January 12, 2005 01:22 PM