Learjet has denied all responsibility for the fatal Sept. 20 plane crash in
which Travis Barker and DJ AM narrowly survived, according to court
documents.
"Learjet alleges that any and all conditions [of the aircraft], if any there
were, were solely a result of the failure to properly maintain and service
the aircraft," say the papers, filed Jan. 16 in Los Angeles.
Both pilots of the plane, as well as Barker's assistant Chris Baker, 29, and
bodyguard Charles Still, 25, perished in the crash. Barker and DJ AM were
hospitalized for weeks with serious burns.
Barker, DJ AM, Still's mother and Baker's widow have filed wrongful death
lawsuits against various corporations they allege were responsible. Baker's
widow and DJ AM are also suing the estates of the two pilots.
Learjet added that the damages suffered by the plaintiffs were "either
excessive, exaggerated, unreasonable, speculative, inflated or otherwise
unnecessary and/or unrelated to the alleged incident."
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board,
which is investigating the crash, recently told PEOPLE, "It is far too early
to say who or what is to blame for the crash," adding that investigations
can take more than a year.
"Learjet's lawyers get paid by the hour to regurgitate stock paragraphs from word processing programs in every case they're involved in," said Barker's lawyer Walter J. Lack. "This case is no exception."
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