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The "Stop The Noise" Lawsuit
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In pursuit of the anti-aviation group Stop The Noise's goals, a member of that group who is also the group's attorney has filed a $1+ million lawsuit with major nationwide implications for the freedom of flight against several Massachusetts pilots and a flight school. The suit alleges “loss of use” of their property due to the sound of aircraft flying in the vicinity of the plaintiffs' homes and town.
The lawsuit does not allege any FAR violations on the part of any of the pilots. Additionally, the FAA has been forced to formally investigate over 30 flights as a result of Stop The Noise complaints alleging airspace violations, and has found "no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of pilots" (FAA spokesman Jim Peters, as quoted by the Groton Landmark, July 28, 2003). A sample of FAA's detailed investigative responses is here. (The full set is 102 pages and 4 megabytes - too large for a web page).
Having failed in their bid to have the FAA adopt their version of privatized airspace regulation, members of the group have now turned to the courts, claiming that aerobatic and flight training operations in their vicinity are a nuisance which has deprived them of the use of their property.
The suit fails to mention that two of the plaintiffs, including Stop The Noise attorney Robert Casey who is prosecuting the case on his own behalf, live less than a mile from Moore Army Airfield which was an active military airport generating significant helicopter and airplane noise when the Caseys purchased their property. The airfield has since been closed for budgetary reasons.
As one of 4 plaintiffs in the suit, Mr. Casey is able to work pro-bono (for no charge) and avoid paying the same six-figure legal costs which he has forced on the pilot defendants. Clearly their hope is that by setting up such a one-sided financial environment, the defendants will be forced to settle out of court, giving up their congressionally-mandated right to share in the benefits of federally-designated airspace and possibly also paying a significant financial settlement. At that point, the blueprint would be drawn for the affiliates and chapters of Stop The Noise in other areas of the country to follow. All of the pilots named in this lawsuit fully recognize their responsibility to fly friendly, and have long altered their operations in order to minimize any impact to people on the ground. The GA Legal Defense Fund encourages all other pilots to fly responsibly as well. None of the defendants had ever been approached by any of the plaintiffs to resolve their concerns amicably, outside of a legal environment. At least one of the defendants has not flown a single flight near the affected area since complaints began several years ago, yet is still named as a defendant. These individuals have, through no choice of their own, been forced to represent and defend all other GA pilots in the United States. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, and others are helping the defense in a number of ways, including legal and financial assistance from AOPA. However, the pilots defending the suit are personally shouldering the vast majority of the costs of defending the suit, as well as all of the financial risk if the suit is lost.
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General
Aviation Legal Defense Fund
