Verdict in Tracy Stewart's suit vs Learjet

A six-woman jury found Learjet not responsible in the death of former PGA tour pro Payne Stewart. I previously blogged about this in my thread- http://thefloridamasochist.blogspot.com/2005/06/tracy-stewart-vs-learjet.html

Learjet should not be held responsible for the 1999 plane accident that killed golfer Payne Stewart, jurors said today.

The six-woman jury deliberated for more than six hours after listening to more than a month of testimony.Stewart won the U.S. Open, his third major victory, just months before his death.His widow, Tracey, and their two children sued Learjet, claiming a cracked adapter caused an outflow valve to pull away from the plane's frame, resulting in a decompression and the escape of cabin air as the plane climbed to its flight altitude after leaving Orlando on Oct. 25, 1999.

All communication with the plane was lost soon afterward and it flew on for hours, all aboard presumably unconscious, until it crashed in South Dakota.Joining the lawsuit was the family of Robert Fraley, Stewart's agent, who also was on the ill-fated flight.The lawsuit had asked for $200 million.

In their verdict, jurors found that the plane's manufacture had no impact on the deaths of Stewart and Fraley, and that there was no negligence in the design or manufacture of the plane.

Jurors refused speak after the verdict.Tracey Stewart, her teenage son and college-aged daughter and Fraley's widow, Dixie Fraley Keller, said through a statement that "their hope in this effort was to make air travel safer ...""They brought this litigation not because of money in any capacity; it was always about responsibility," said attorney Gregory McNeill.