Cyclic Hotline
11th Sep 2001, 10:56
Rattled CMGI chairman sues GE, Bombardier over jet
By Tim McLaughlin
BOSTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) -
CMGI Inc. Chairman David Wetherell, who has survived the crash of his high-flying Internet stock, fears he may not be as lucky if the same thing happens to his new $23 million business jet.
Wetherell, who built an empire of Web firms, has sued General Electric Co. and Bombardier Aerospace Corp., after his jet suffered two engine failures in six weeks. Wetherell wants his money back and is seeking damages for emotional distress, David Bunis, a lawyer for Wetherell, told Reuters on Monday.
The first engine failure happened at 41,000 feet (12.4 km) over the Atlantic Ocean while Wetherell was flying to his Massachusetts home from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, according to lawsuit filed in July in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston.
In a harrowing ride on April 1, Wetherell awoke about midnight to a loud alarm signaling engine failure about 300 miles (480 km) from the nearest airport, the lawsuit states.
The second engine failure happened on May 11 while Wetherell was returning from the West Coast with his son. Once again, Wetherell's plane had to make an emergency landing.
"No fool would go up a third time in such a plane,'' Bunis told Reuters. Wetherell bought the plane in February.
GE, maker of the two jet engines that power Wetherell's plane, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Officials at Bombardier Aerospace, a unit of Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. also declined to comment on the litigation. They did say that the 550 Challenger planes sold since the model was introduced in 1980 are extremely reliable and have flown more than two million hours.
Once a billionaire on paper, Wetherell's fortune has been sharply reduced as shares of CMGI have dropped about 75 percent this year. The stock was up 7 cents to $1.41 in Monday afternoon trade on Nasdaq, far below its 52-week high of $42.43 and even further below its all-time closing high of $163.22 in January 2000.
According to the lawsuit, GE and Bombardier officials met with Wetherell in June to discuss the problems with his jet. The companies told him they were unable to determine the cause of the engine failures, the lawsuit states.
"Bombardier's and General Electric's recent statement that the engine failures resulted from something called the 'random stacking of variables' is jargon-laced guesswork and is cold comfort to a father and son flying 41,000 feet over the Atlantic,'' Bunis wrote in a July 31 letter to Bombardier.
By Tim McLaughlin
BOSTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) -
CMGI Inc. Chairman David Wetherell, who has survived the crash of his high-flying Internet stock, fears he may not be as lucky if the same thing happens to his new $23 million business jet.
Wetherell, who built an empire of Web firms, has sued General Electric Co. and Bombardier Aerospace Corp., after his jet suffered two engine failures in six weeks. Wetherell wants his money back and is seeking damages for emotional distress, David Bunis, a lawyer for Wetherell, told Reuters on Monday.
The first engine failure happened at 41,000 feet (12.4 km) over the Atlantic Ocean while Wetherell was flying to his Massachusetts home from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, according to lawsuit filed in July in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston.
In a harrowing ride on April 1, Wetherell awoke about midnight to a loud alarm signaling engine failure about 300 miles (480 km) from the nearest airport, the lawsuit states.
The second engine failure happened on May 11 while Wetherell was returning from the West Coast with his son. Once again, Wetherell's plane had to make an emergency landing.
"No fool would go up a third time in such a plane,'' Bunis told Reuters. Wetherell bought the plane in February.
GE, maker of the two jet engines that power Wetherell's plane, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Officials at Bombardier Aerospace, a unit of Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. also declined to comment on the litigation. They did say that the 550 Challenger planes sold since the model was introduced in 1980 are extremely reliable and have flown more than two million hours.
Once a billionaire on paper, Wetherell's fortune has been sharply reduced as shares of CMGI have dropped about 75 percent this year. The stock was up 7 cents to $1.41 in Monday afternoon trade on Nasdaq, far below its 52-week high of $42.43 and even further below its all-time closing high of $163.22 in January 2000.
According to the lawsuit, GE and Bombardier officials met with Wetherell in June to discuss the problems with his jet. The companies told him they were unable to determine the cause of the engine failures, the lawsuit states.
"Bombardier's and General Electric's recent statement that the engine failures resulted from something called the 'random stacking of variables' is jargon-laced guesswork and is cold comfort to a father and son flying 41,000 feet over the Atlantic,'' Bunis wrote in a July 31 letter to Bombardier.