By Timothy R. Gaffney

Dayton Daily News, 8.14.02

A group of former Emery Worldwide Airlines pilots have sued the airline,

its parent companies, executives and other parties, alleging wrongful

termination and "intentional interference with an economic relationship."

The lawsuit lists 58 former Emery pilots as plaintiffs and seeks at least

$500 million in damages.

Attorneys filed the claim Monday in California's Superior Court for San

Mateo County, where CNF's and Emery Worldwide's corporate headquarters are

in Palo Alto. The filing came one year after CNF and its subsidiary Emery

Worldwide grounded EWA, the Dayton-based cargo airline.

As part of its claims, the lawsuit alleges the defendants "cut back on

maintenance and safety procedures" and forced EWA pilots "to operate

mechanically unsafe, under-maintained and improperly serviced aircraft."

CNF spokeswoman Nancy Colvert on Tuesday said she was aware of the

lawsuit, but said CNF doesn't comment on pending cases.

The grounding laid off approximately 800 pilots and ground crew last

August after the Federal Aviation Administration threatened to revoke

EWA's airline certificate for more than 100 alleged safety violations.

EWA later agreed to pay a $1 million penalty and work with the FAA to fix

safety problems to resume operations. But in December, CNF said it was

disbanding the airline as part of a corporate restructuring.

The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the

February 2000 crash of EWA Flight 17, a DC-8 with a crew of three that

crashed shortly after takeoff near Sacramento, Calif. The crash killed all

three crew members. A safety board hearing that recessed after two days in

May was focused on maintenance issues.

The lawsuit also claims CNF and Emery Worldwide executives conspired to

break the pilots' union after members joined the Air Line Pilots

Association and began negotiating for a labor contract.

Other defendants in the lawsuit include Ryan International Airlines Inc.,

a Wichita, Kan.-based cargo airline that flies freight for Emery on

Emery-owned airplanes, and 100 "John Does" identified as an unknown CNF

financial center, competing airlines and other individuals in CNF or its

subsidiaries.

The lawsuit is the second filed by former EWA pilots since the grounding.

In February, five former EWA pilots filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court

in Dayton, alleging the airline failed to give them a required 60-day

layoff notice.

Contact Timothy R. Gaffney at 225-2390 or e-mail him at

[From the Dayton Daily News: 08.14.2002]

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