Jenni Rivera's four employees who were killed with the Latin music star in a 2012 airplane crash may have ended up leaving their families $70 million, which doomed Learjet owner Starwood Management has been ordered to pay, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A default judgement against Starwood was made by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly Kendig after the company abandoned its defense in a wrongful-death suit and stopped representing itself in court.
The jet crashed into a side of a mountain in Mexico with Rivera and her entourage on Dec. 9, 2012, after plunging 28,000 feet in 30 seconds, said the Times. The City New Service said the entertainer, 43, died with her publicist, Arturo Rivera; makeup artist Jacobo Yebale; hairstylist Jorge Armando Sanchez Vasquez; and Mario Macias Pacheco, her attorney.
"It provides an element of closure for the families that Starwood has been held responsible for this tragedy," Paul R. Kiesel, an attorney for the families said, according to the Times. "Now, the next chapter begins to recover the substantial damages caused by this loss."
The families argued that the Learjet's owner neglected to properly maintain it and train the crew, the Times said according to court papers. The lawsuit charged that a pilot was not licensed for the passenger load he was carrying, per the Times.
The City News Service reported last month that Rivera's estate settled with Bombardier Inc., which serviced the aircraft. Andrew Owen, an attorney for Rivera's estate, stated in court documents that he would outline the settlement with the court where money will be held in trust for two of Rivera's five children, who were minors at the time of the crash, noted the City News Service.
"At the time of her death, she was on the verge of mainstream celebrity status, following a successful reality show on cable network Mun2 and a newly signed deal to star on a TV series on a major English-language television network," said The Hollywood Reporter's Leila Cobo in May.
"Since then, Rivera's album sales have soared, her memoir became a New York Times best-seller and there have been multiple rumors and published reports on the possibility of TV series and movies based on her life."
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