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Plane crash survivor asks to be excused from settlement talks
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Posted on Jun 12 2011
Bruce Berline, the attorney for a plane crash survivor, has asked the federal court to excuse his Japan-based client from personally attending a settlement conference as she is now extremely fearful of getting on a plane after the crash.
Berline said that Yoko Kamiyama is living and working in Japan and that it would be expensive for her to travel to Saipan in terms of missed work and expense.
In motions filed Friday, Berline said the recent disasters in Japan has made communication with Kamiyama difficult at times but she will be available via telephone.
The lawyer said he will have full settlement authority on Kamiyama’s behalf under any terms stated at the conference.
Berline also asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to allow him to file the settlement brief today, Monday, at 9am. The brief was due last Thursday. He said communication with Kamiyama needed to complete the brief has been difficult due to the recent events in Japan.
Kamiyama, a Japanese national, was among the seven passengers of a Piper Cherokee aircraft that crashed on a farm in Upper Dandan while en route to Tinian on Aug. 11, 2006. She is seeking over $100,000 in damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
