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Posted on 03/07/2005 9:31:57 AM PST by JewishRighter
Victims Sue Thailand, U.S., Accor Over Tsunami
Mon Mar 7, 9:20 AM ET World - Reuters
VIENNA (Reuters) - U.S. and Austrian lawyers have filed a lawsuit demanding Thailand, U.S. forecasters and the French Accor group answer accusations they failed in a duty to warn populations hit by December's Tsunami disaster, a lawyer said Monday.
The lawsuit was filed Friday at a New York district court on behalf of tsunami victims by lawyers including U.S. attorney Edward Fagan, internationally renowned for 1990s lawsuits against Swiss banks over Holocaust-era accounts. It demanded an account of their actions on Dec. 26.
"We expect a hearing within 30 days," Austrian lawyer Gerhard Podovsovnik told Reuters.
"We don't earn any money on the lawsuit. We want to help people," he said. "We are suing to get information."
The disaster left about 300,000 people dead or missing in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Maldives, Bangladesh and East Africa. Hundreds of thousands lost their homes.
The text of the lawsuit is available on the Web site www.tsunamivictimsgroup.com.
The U.S. and Austrian lawyers filed the lawsuit on behalf of around 60 named plaintiffs from Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands and elsewhere. Podovsovnik said they were also acting on behalf of at least 40 more not named.
The lawsuit suggests the Thai government and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates a Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, failed to issue the requisite warnings.
SLOW WARNINGS
"Respondent NOAA did not notify all involved countries which lay in the tsunami's path. From public information it appears that ... NOAA failed to issue an alert that would notify countries where the tsunami hit that the deadly wave was coming," the lawsuit said.
"Published reports emerged that upon receipt of the NOAA alert and other data, the seismological and oceanographic experts of Thailand spent more than one hour talking about what the risk may or may not have been, instead of immediately issuing a warning to their population," it said.
It also accused Thailand of failing to notify Sri Lanka that a tsunami wave was headed its way.
Among the charges leveled against Accor, the owner of the Sofitel hotel chain, was failure to equip its luxury resort and spa in Khao Lak, Thailand with state-of-the-art seismic detection and warning systems, despite its location "in an earthquake and tsunami fault zone."
Last month, Accor issued a statement denying media reports of possible negligence in connection with the tsunami disaster. "The allegations concerning Accor are completely unfounded," Accor said on its Web Site.
No good deed goes unpunished.
It was only a matter of time.
The warning went out to all. How the gov't reacts to the warning is not our fault.
OK time to stop the aid money!!!!
OK time to stop the aid money!!!!
Has anyone seen John Edwards lately?
The Global Class Action Lawsuit. This won't be the last either.
Hey Europe, look out, Muhammed want to rape and kill you!!!
Thank you alchemist. Since you know that if $ gets paid out on this lawsuit, its coming from you and me!
Bingo.
NOAA did not realize that the seismic disturbance created the wave for several hours after said disturbance took place.
I notice that every disaster is magnified with lawsuits.
9/11, tsunami, whatever. More summer homes for lawyers, more misery for everyone else.
We did warn them, but they ignored us because of what it would do to the tourist trade.
This is ridiculous. We all have helped out where we can, and we get this c$!p back. Let the rest of the world help them out and give us back our money.
barfing now
Tort reform.
Lawyers are evil.
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