Celebrity Justice
Travis Barker Sues Plane and Tire Companies

Travis Barker is suing Bombardier Inc., Clay Lacy Aviation and Goodyear Tire and Rubber in connection with the plane crash that severely injured him and killed two of his friends.

The suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, was filed by Barker and the mother of Charles "Che" Still, Travis' bodyguard who died in the crash.

In the lawsuit, Travis and Thelma Martin Still claim "one or more of the tires failed leaving tire debris and portions of airplane components along the 8,600 foot runway" ultimately causing the Learjet to crash.

The suit alleges a "negligent attempt to abort the takeoff." The suit continues, "The pilot's decision was a breach of their duty owed to the passengers onboard and was a substantial factor in causing the crash and resultant injuries and deaths."

The suit also alleges the plane was "defective," as were component parts including the tires.

The suit goes on, "It's landing gear, tires, wheels, brakes, reverse thrust system, squat switches and component parts were not airworthy."

Barker is suing for "pain and suffering, mental anguish, psychological and emotional distress and disfigurement and pre-impact fear of death and burning."

UPDATE: A rep for Clay Lacy just told TMZ, "We are surprised about the lawsuit and concerned and knowledgeable about the accident. We are sympathetic for the victims but we want to emphasize we were not operating this airplane. This was not our airplane. We merely assisted the parties in chartering this aircraft with another company. We simply booked it for them."



Reader Comments

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46. Go Travis!
May your friends R.I.P.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Posted at 6:47AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by MRS CRISS ANGEL

47. I dont understand some of your comments on here. Why are you bitching about him suing these people? If I almost lost my life and burned to death I'd be all over that. This isn't one of those stupid lawsuits that have nothing to do with anything and are just for media attention. I think it's great that hes taking this step. And to whoever called him a "no talent Screech look a like" who needs to practice drumming - im not the biggest blink 182 fan in the world, but this man is more successful than you'll probably ever be because of his music.

Posted at 7:36AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by Jen

48. # 9

Posted at 9:02AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by dirty white boy.

49. Everyone involved with this plane crash should be suing! This was a preventable accident and those injured and the families of the deceased should be compensatedfor their loss of husbands, fathers, loved ones. DJAM and Travis went through a lot of terror and pain. This is not a frivolous "McDonald's made me fat, Marlboro gave me cancer" lawsuit,

And to the dork that said Travis needs to practice drumming, get your head out of your ass. He's one of the most talented drummers EVER! Calling him a poor drummer is just showing your ignorance.

Posted at 9:23AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by nsaustin

50. Of course he should sue, all the victims (families) should sue!! The lawyers have to name every possible party involved, that's just the way our legal system works. I sued a drunk driver for crossing the center line and hitting me and I had to include the drunk, the bar that served him, the bartender personally, the town, the county, the road crews, the snowplowers (it was winter) and on and on and on... They have to be completely thorough in case the drunk blames it on the road not being plowed, for example and gets away with it. In the pre-trial proceedings the judge disqualifies who SHOULDN'T be involved and then it goes forward from there. This is layman's terms, I know what I typed is not technically perfect, so for some of the wannabe lawyers out there, JUST SAVE IT please unless you can do better.

GO TRAVIS and all the VICTIMS and their families!!!!

Posted at 9:20AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by lawyer up

51. All pilots are trained to abort a takeoff when something is wrong...why would you think you could fly in the air when all things are going wrong on the ground?? Suing dead pilots is not the answer !!

Posted at 10:36AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by forevermore

52.

THEY WERE THE ONES PLAYING BIG SHOTS AND HAD TO HAVE A PRIVATE JET.

A SENSE OF HUMILITY AND BEING GRATEFUL TO HAVE SURVIVED WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE. MAYBE SUE NEXT YEAR OR SOMETHING.

Posted at 11:58AM on Nov 22nd 2008 by JUSTICE

53. This lawsuit against the pilots is absolutely disgusting...they're DEAD Travis. I think they've paid for their "mistake"...if it was their mistake. I can understand a lawsuit against the tire company, if indeed it was faulty tires that caused the crash, but to sue dead people...that's just wrong. The poor families of those pilots are suffering too. BE THANKFUL THAT YOU'RE ALIVE TRAVIS.

Posted at 1:00PM on Nov 22nd 2008 by GIVEITUP

54. Sorry Travis, you dont have a case.

Posted at 4:21PM on Nov 22nd 2008 by Ori

55. What a great idea, sue the pilots.

Who do you think was first at the crash site. The pilots.

This is simply another example of one of the seious malaises with this country. The legal system is broken. There is almost a 100% probability that this suit (these suits) have no merit whatsoever but it's a coin flip if it goes to a jury because, as Carlin says, think how stupid the average person is and then realize that half the people are stupider than that.

Posted at 5:22PM on Nov 22nd 2008 by 777rightseat

56. FWIW, the preliminary accident report is available here: http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20081003X16308&key=1

On first blush, the suit's allegation of "negligent attempt to abort the takeoff" appears to have merit. If this proves to be true, then obviously the pilots are at fault.

Unfortunately (on many levels) both pilots died in the accident, so the lawyer's revert to their usual ambulance-chasing antics. The suit also alleges the plane was "defective," and "its landing gear, tires, wheels, brakes, reverse thrust system, squat switches and component parts were not airworthy." This is a typical ploy used to find manufacturers at fault for an issue that is, more than likely, due to operator error. Manufacturers have much deeper pockets than pilots, so lawsuits tend to "go for the money".

Of course, everything is possible -- maybe the plane really wasn't airworthy. However, the odds that a relatively new jet (built 01/30/2007, purchased 10/25/2007, put into service 6 weeks before the accident) could pass certification and then quickly have major systems fail is highly unlikely.

In due time (usually 6 months or so) the NTSB will produce a final report on their investigation into this crash. Hopefully, we will know the likely cause(s) of the crash at that time. Pity the lawyers cannot wait until then and insist on a "shotgun" approach, dragging everyone with deep pockets into the lawsuit.

Posted at 5:23PM on Nov 22nd 2008 by Fleg

57. wah wah just don't fly Anymore,odds are against you if you fly everyday. don't like paps don't be famous go hide in europe.

Posted at 6:01PM on Nov 22nd 2008 by C*MSOCK

58. Hopefully, Travis is doing this in order for companies and pilots to take a better look at the incident and learn from it. Hopefully, if he does win any money, he'll donate it to charity or to the families of those that died in the plane crash in addition to any monies they are awarded.
Just because he decided to hire a private jet doesn't mean that he deserves to be in a plane crash. I'm sure he's thankful that he has another chance at life. Let's hope he's doing this for the right reasons. Complaining about how much you despise him isn't going to get you anywhere, is it?

Posted at 10:31PM on Nov 22nd 2008 by berger

59. i believe he is doing the right thing and i don't believe money is a motive.
think about it. do you think he is suing for financial gain? perhaps the issues brought to the table would, in the future prevent this from happening again. whatever the cause...it needs to be addressed. there is no win or lose win people lose their lives, you can't put a price on those you've lost, but you can fight for justice.

Posted at 12:11AM on Nov 23rd 2008 by da

60. you people are brainwashed caring about people like travis like they are childhood friends get your head out of your *** and worry about yourself last and your family first you brainwashed american sheep.

Posted at 12:13AM on Nov 23rd 2008 by C*MSOCK

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